Brussels stands ready to expand its strictest digital regulations into the heart of enterprise computing. The European Commission plans to designate Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act as soon as November. This move, first signaled in a preliminary finding in June, would mark the first time the DMA reaches cloud infrastructure. It targets practices that keep customers tied to dominant providers.

The decision remains in draft form. Its timing could still shift. Yet people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that regulators have nearly finished their work. A final ruling would confirm what officials previewed months ago. AWS and Azure qualify as important gateways between businesses and their end customers in the EU. This holds even though neither service meets the law’s standard numerical tests for size or users.

Short. Direct. The Commission launched its market probes in November 2025. It gathered input from customers, rivals and other players. By June 25, 2026, it had reached a clear preliminary view. AWS ranks as the largest cloud service in the bloc. Azure sits second. Both boast significant revenue. Their operational scale and capital spending have outrun competitors. They maintain vast, sticky customer bases. Switching costs run high. Lock-in effects run deeper. And their AI tools now sway many procurement decisions.

“In Europe, we are increasingly reliant on cloud computing services,” said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, in the Commission’s June statement. “These services will only continue to grow in importance, which is why it is essential that we ensure a well-functioning and competitive market.” The full European Commission press release stressed that AI has become a decisive factor. Demand for cloud capacity surges with artificial intelligence workloads. Much of that new demand stays inside the AWS and Azure environments.

But the designation breaks new ground. The DMA was written with consumer platforms in mind. App stores, search engines, social networks. Cloud services operate differently. They serve businesses. They power everything from startups to governments. The law allows qualitative assessments when numbers fall short. Brussels has chosen that path here. It marks a notable precedent.

Once designated, the companies would face six months to comply. That clock starts after a final decision. Obligations would bar self-preferencing. Amazon could not steer users toward its own retail or advertising tools inside AWS without giving rivals equal shots. Microsoft would face similar limits on favoring its software stack on Azure. Interoperability requirements would kick in. Data portability rules would aim to ease customer exits. The goal sits clear. Lower barriers. Open choices. More competition from smaller cloud providers and open-source alternatives.

Amazon and Microsoft already carry gatekeeper labels for other businesses. Amazon for its marketplace and advertising. Microsoft for Windows and LinkedIn. Those earlier designations came in 2023. Cloud escaped them then. Now regulators have circled back. They argue the two firms’ overall grip on the internal market justifies the step. Their cloud arms have achieved durable positions. The investments keep flowing. The ecosystems keep expanding.

Responses have stayed measured. Microsoft has pointed to constructive talks with officials. It has also highlighted Google Cloud’s rising strength in some statements. AWS has stressed that European customers enjoy more options today than ever before. Neither firm has offered fresh public comment on the November timeline. The process still grants them time to present defenses. They can review the Commission’s file. Submit written arguments. Request hearings. Officials insist the June findings do not prejudge the outcome.

Yet the direction looks set. A Thenextweb report on October 2 captured the latest signals. The draft decision would bring the cloud arms squarely under the DMA’s obligations. Rules against favoring own products. Mandates to work with rival services. Easier data movement for customers. These changes could reshape how enterprises buy and switch cloud capacity across Europe.

The market size adds weight. Europe’s cloud sector exceeds 220 billion euros. More than half of EU businesses already rely on such services. Public administrations do too. Growth shows no signs of slowing. AI accelerates it. Hyperscalers capture the lion’s share. Estimates often place AWS and Azure together above 60 percent of the European market, though exact figures vary by source and segment. Smaller providers and regional players have long complained about technical barriers, licensing terms and commercial bundling that make departure expensive.

Critics of the DMA worry about overreach. The law’s quantitative thresholds exist for a reason. Using qualitative criteria risks turning “big” into “gatekeeper” without clear limits. Supporters counter that cloud differs from consumer apps. The infrastructure layer influences downstream competition in ways the original DMA checklist did not fully anticipate. A separate Commission study examines whether the current obligations fit cloud practices. Recommendations on that front are due by May 2027.

Timing carries political edge. The preliminary view landed in late June. The expected final call comes weeks before year-end. Transatlantic tensions over technology policy have risen in recent months. Some in Washington view European rules as aimed at American champions. EU officials frame the effort as protecting competition and sovereignty. Cloud sits at the center of both arguments. It powers AI development. It stores sensitive data. It forms the foundation for digital economies.

Industry groups have weighed in. The Open Cloud Coalition welcomed the June findings. Members see lock-in as a barrier that hurts innovation. They argue AI development could reinforce existing advantages if customers cannot easily test alternatives. Other voices urge caution. Rapid compliance might force architectural changes that raise costs. Customers could face higher prices or reduced features in the short term. Long-term effects remain harder to predict.

One thing looks certain. The DMA is no longer confined to social media feeds and smartphone screens. It now eyes the servers running the modern economy. AWS and Azure built their leads through relentless investment, tight integration and customer familiarity. Those strengths have become the very reasons for regulatory attention. Switching costs that once signaled quality now read as potential barriers.

Companies will adapt. They always do. Microsoft has already made some concessions in other DMA areas. Amazon has adjusted marketplace rules. Cloud presents fresh complexities. Data egress fees, reserved instances, identity and access management, AI service bundling. Each area will require careful mapping to the new obligations. Technical teams on both sides will spend the compliance window negotiating details with Brussels.

The Commission has hosted stakeholder roundtables on cloud under the DMA. It continues to gather evidence. A third investigation looks specifically at whether existing rules adequately address interoperability obstacles, conditioned data access and bundling in this sector. That work runs parallel. Its conclusions could shape how the gatekeeper obligations are enforced in practice.

For enterprise technology leaders the message lands clearly. Europe’s largest cloud providers will soon operate under the same oversight that governs search, apps and operating systems. Choice mechanisms may appear. Portability tools could improve. Preferential bundling might face limits. Yet implementation will test the DMA’s design in unfamiliar territory. Cloud is not a storefront. It is the factory floor of the digital age.

Regulators bet that opening the pipes will spur innovation and reduce dependency. Providers counter that their integrated offerings deliver the performance and security that customers demand. The coming months of argument, drafting and adjustment will reveal which view carries more force in practice. One November decision will not settle the debate. It will only begin a new phase of oversight, compliance and competition in the European cloud.