The conditions AWS, Google and Azure attach to waiving the fees do little to make data portability free or simple
Microsoft has followed rivals AWS and Google in deciding it will no longer charge customers an egress fee for removing their data from its Azure cloud. AWS and Google announced their decisions earlier this year, ahead of the European Data Act
coming into force in September next year.
One of the aims of the Act is to remove inhibitors to competition, including attempts by vendors to lock customers in, such as by charging them to remove their data.
Not free data portability
However, cancelling egress fees does not mean free or simple data portability. Google announced the end of data egress fees in January, but they are only waived when customers stop using Google Cloud and move their data elsewhere.
AWS has allowed the free transfer of 100GB of data since 2021, which the firm claims is more than enough for 90% of its customers. If a customer needs more for a migration, things get complicated. AWS provides data transfer out (DTO) credits but customers have to contact support to apply for them first.
AWS says this is because it cannot tell “if the data transferred out to the internet is a normal part of your business or a one-time transfer as part of a switch to another cloud provider or on-premise.” If approved, AWS applies DTO credits, customers then have 60 days to complete the move. Repeated migration requests will face “additional scrutiny”.
Fees waived for quitters
Now with Azure, according to this blog egress fees are waived if customers take their data out of the Azure infrastructure via the internet to switch to another cloud provider or an on-premises data centre.
Azure is only waiving fees for customers who are ceasing to use its cloud. It too already offers the first 100GB/month of egressed data for free to all customers in all Azure regions around the world but customers have to contact support to claim credits etc.
In other words, as this blog by Forrester explains, the overall message is that egress fees are waived on permanently exiting data only, not for repeated comings and goings such as for regular communications between clouds and on-prem, recovery or migration.
The Azure blog ends saying, “The exemption on data transfer out to the internet fees also aligns with the European Data Act and is accessible to all Azure customers globally and from any Azure region.”
Letter not the spirit
Which feels a lot more like it is sticking to the letter than the spirit of the proposed Act and focus on egress fees in isolation is missing the target.
The EU is not the only party scrutinising the practices of cloudcos regarding anti-competitive behaviour.
Last October, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it is to investigate egress fees as part of a wider probe into the big cloudcos’ practices after a referral by the telecoms watchdog Oftel. The CMA is looking into practices that restrict or discourage customers from switching cloud providers or adopting a multi-cloud approach.
The CMA expects its investigation will be complete by April 2025.