Dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud harming competition, UK says

LONDON (Reuters) -Amazon and Microsoft's dominant position in cloud computing has an adverse effect on competition, exacerbated by technical and commercial barriers to switching, an inquiry group from Britain's antitrust regulator said.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry group said on Thursday the regulator should investigate whether to consider designating the two companies with strategic market status (SMS) in cloud services, which would give it power to impose tailored conditions.

It noted, however, that the CMA has said it will not consider launching future SMS investigations until early next year.

Google is the third main cloud services provider, but it has a much smaller share than its rivals.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)