New ‘open’ cloud coalition not so open: Analyst

This new Open Cloud Coalition, whose members include Google Cloud, Civo, and ControlPlane, claims it’s all about fair competition and stronger regulatory oversight, he said, “but if this is supposed to be a truly open coalition, why aren’t other major players like Microsoft and AWS involved? How open is this coalition if key cloud providers aren’t part of it?”

According to Brunkard, “if the OCC were genuinely open, they’d likely want to bring in other big names like Microsoft and Amazon. Instead, it feels like they’re selectively excluding some, favoring those aligned with Google. Regulators may need to look closely to see if the other members are aligned with Google or if they have broader partnerships.”

He said, “until we see Google working alongside Microsoft and Amazon, any claims about being an open coalition focused on improving competition, transparency, and resilience are pretty questionable. It’s fair for Microsoft and others to wonder if the OCC is just a marketing play rather than genuinely committed to its mission.”

This story, he said, “goes beyond Microsoft and Google; to me, it shows a bigger trend where cloud providers are using alliances and lobbying to shape the regulatory environment.”

The UK, said Brunkard, has become a “hotspot for this, especially with the CMA investigating AWS and Microsoft after Ofcom raised concerns about anti-competitive practices. As scrutiny ramps up, I see the cloud giants positioning themselves as if they’re champions of openness and customer choice, while working to protect their own market positions.”

Regulators should also “scrutinize whether the OCC truly serves broader goals of competition, transparency, and resilience, or if it’s just another tool for certain players to further their own interests,” he said.