The Competition and Markets Authority announced on 16 October 2026 that it proposes to designate Microsoft with strategic market status in its business software ecosystem, and will consult before making a final decision, with a statutory deadline of February 2027. The regulator said its findings are provisional and that designation does not assume wrongdoing. Microsoft's business software, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams and Copilot, is used by over a million UK businesses and public sector organisations, with around 20 million monthly users, according to the CMA.

The CMA said Microsoft holds a strong position across the five digital activity areas it investigated, and that customer switching barriers weaken the constraints of other developers. Its indicative roadmap lists possible areas for further evidence-gathering and action, including how Microsoft bundles its software, whether customers can freely choose AI tools, security product bundling, and choice over which cloud to deploy licences on.

Separately, the CMA said Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have taken steps to promote cloud choice, including removing data transfer fees for customers changing providers. It said more can be done and that a further update is planned for spring 2027.