Ofcom has announced that it will launch a market study to examine the dominant position of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in the UK’s £15 billion cloud services market.

The three tech giants are the largest cloud service providers in the UK, together making up 81 per cent of revenue in the public cloud infrastructure services market.

The regulator said that if competition concerns are identified it could take further action.

The UK watchdog will also investigate digital services, including WhatsApp, Zoom, and smart speakers.

“The way we live, work, play and do business has been transformed by digital services,” said Selina Chadha, Ofcom’s director of connectivity. “But as the number of platforms, devices and networks serving content continues to grow, so do the technological and economic issues facing regulators.”

Chadha added: “That's why we're kicking off a programme of work to scrutinise these digital markets, identify any competition concerns and ensure they work well for people and businesses who rely on them.”

Ofcom said that its study will assess how well the market works, examine the strength of the competition in cloud services, and consider any market features that may limit innovation and growth in this sector by making it difficult for other companies to access the market and expand their share of it.

The authority will have the power to make recommendations to the UK government to change regulations or policy; take enforcement action in relation to competition or consumers; make a market investigation referral to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA); and accept commitments instead of making a market research referral.

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