The Coalition for Fair Software Licensing has published research showing that US workers reckon Microsoft is using its productivity tools to lock their employers into the company’s AI services.

The survey data of more than 1,000 workers – out a day before the release of Microsoft’s E7 AI bundle – found that three-quarters believed Microsoft was using its dominance in productivity software to push AI. More than half (57 percent) opposed their employer buying Microsoft’s E7 bundle.

Only a third of workers questioned said they preferred Microsoft as a vendor, while 78 percent reported they could do their jobs just as well with another vendor’s AI tool.

Perhaps that other tool is Google Gemini. Though the survey makes for difficult reading for Microsoft and Copilot enthusiasts, it also opens a new front in the war for productivity hearts and minds. Google has no official affiliation with the survey or the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing – but Microsoft, for one, has its suspicions.

In a 2024 blog entitled “Google’s shadow campaigns,” Rima Alaily, Microsoft’s general counsel for Infrastructure Legal Affairs, wrote, “We understand Google is a main funder of the US-based Coalition for Fair Software Licensing.”

The Coalition for Fair Software Licensing were asked about its ties with Google. A spokesperson said, “While the Coalition does not disclose our membership, our members span a cross-section of key industries, including healthcare companies, financial services businesses, as well as cloud and cybersecurity providers – each one has experienced or been exposed to anticompetitive and abusive software licensing practices in the cloud.”

Another source grumbled about Gemini, saying there is a risk that “Google is deploying the same playbook as when they were monopolising search.”

Google were asked for comment, but the company was unable to provide a statement before publication. Other than an acknowledgement of receipt, Microsoft has also not responded.

Ryan Triplette, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, said, “Microsoft’s decision to launch E7 on May Day is no coincidence. It should send a clear distress signal for any organisation already locked into the Microsoft ecosystem. For years, customers have borne the cost of that lock-in, paying a premium not for innovation, but simply for the ability to maintain flexibility. E7 is the latest extension of that model, and the reaction from workers underscores a growing reality: the cost is not justified.

“Despite Microsoft facing mounting regulatory scrutiny over its anticompetitive behaviour, we fully expect the company to deploy every tool in its playbook to force existing customers into this new bundle. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic should be watching closely and be poised to act quickly to protect customers.”

Microsoft is dominant in the office productivity space. Google Workspace has claimed a few high-profile scalps over the years, but some, such as European aerospace megcorp Airbus, have found the Microsoft habit a hard one to kick.

It is unsurprising, then, that critics have rung alarm bells over Microsoft pushing AI technology into enterprises that have already bought into its productivity ecosystem. Copilot has yet to deliver the productivity gains promised by evangelists, but Microsoft is heavily invested in the tech and determined it will be a success.

The survey data reflects wider unease among workers over AI tools being promoted through subscriptions like E7, and anxiety, perhaps, about an agentic future and what it means for their jobs. What it does not capture, however, is the thinking of those who will actually make the decisions: whether Microsoft holds its grip on office productivity into the AI age, or loses its crown to a rival.

For decades, enterprise software has acted as a digital filing cabinet or system of record where human workers painstakingly log the daily operations of a business. Now, Oracle wants to flip that dynamic, turning its software into an autonomous engine that does the work itself.

The move hinges on what the tech industry is calling agentic artificial intelligence (AI), where software agents with the ability to reason and collaborate can execute multi-step tasks with minimal human intervention.

Speaking on the sidelines of Oracle AI World Tour Singapore, Rondy Ng, Oracle’s executive vice-president for applications development, noted that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are evolving from passive repositories of data into autonomous systems of outcome that execute tasks based on high-level business goals.

However, Ng made it clear that Oracle’s latest AI innovations are exclusively reserved for its software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, such as Oracle Fusion, which is used by about 70% of its applications’ customer base. Legacy, on-premise product lines remain in maintenance mode.

“When people deployed those legacy applications from the past, they were heterogeneous,” he said. “They were not standard processes.

“If you have data demarcated in different ways, you can build agents to recognise all the differences, but the effort of doing that and the likelihood of making mistakes and hallucinations are higher.

“But if you’re on a relatively clean slate, you get faster results, better accuracy and more automation,” added Ng. “Our strategy is for people to go to SaaS. When you’re on SaaS, you can deploy AI much more efficiently.”

A UK Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) has dismissed Microsoft’s objections to a collective action lawsuit brought by UK-based cloud licensees, clearing the way for trial.

The case seeks compensation for approximately 59,000 businesses and organisations over Microsoft’s pricing of Windows Server on Azure versus competing cloud platforms including AWS and Google Cloud – allegations that Microsoft charged less for the software on its own platform than on rivals’. If Microsoft loses, it could face liability of up to £2 billion (c $2.7 billion).

The CAT granted a Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) on an opt-out basis, and said in its judgement that the claim “comfortably passes” the reasonable prospect of success threshold. The CPO – expected to be published within weeks – will set a deadline for businesses to opt out, and may include directions for when hearings begin.

Microsoft’s protestations concerned funding and the merits of the case.

Lead claimant Dr Maria Luisa Stasi called the ruling “an important moment for thousands of organisations impacted by Microsoft’s conduct.”

She added: “For years, Microsoft’s practices have had real financial impact on both public and private organisations. I’m now looking forward to preparing for trial and getting their money back on their behalf.”

A spokesperson for Microsoft said: “We will pursue an appeal of the Tribunal’s decision because it failed to follow recent precedent from the Supreme Court on class action certifications. We also dispute the underlying allegations by the class representative, and today’s decision makes no final determination on those claims.”

The case, filed in December 2024, is one of several legal headaches for Microsoft in the UK. The company is separately appealing a CAT ruling over secondhand software sales in a claim brought by reseller ValueLicensing.

Jonathan Horley, boss at ValueLicensing, said of the class action case heading to trial: “However it pans out, it is very good that MS are being held to account over their strategic move to a subscription model.

“Over the last 15 years, in both the desktop and datacenter environments, VL believes that Microsoft has abused its dominant position to achieve that aim. I believe the Stasi and Wolfson claims are manifestations of that.”

Cloud provider Civo also welcomed the development. CEO Mark Boost said: “Ensuring a level playing field for all providers is essential to fostering innovation, expanding choice, and delivering the best outcomes for customers.”

Microsoft’s alleged licensing practices have drawn scrutiny across Europe and further afield – in 2024, the company settled with EU cloud vendor group CISPE with a payout and commitments to change its practices. CISPE had no comment to make on this latest development. In the same year, Google filed a complaint with the European Commission’s anti-trust team over the matter.

The FTC is examining if Microsoft’s cloud clout crosses the line, and authorities in Japan are investigating if the vendor has violated anti-monopoly laws.

Google and AWS have not commented on the CAT licensing ruling, which sends the case to trial.

Citius, Altius, Fortius. More than a slogan, “Faster, Higher, Stronger Together” is a phrase etched in the minds of many IT decision-makers. Technology is essential. Nobody wants to fall behind. Doing so could mean losing out on many advantages and, consequently, significant business.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that Gartner forecasts global IT spending to reach $6.31 trillion this year, a 13.5% increase compared to 2025 — and nearly 3% more than Gartner forecasted in February, at 10.8% growth.

A sustained push in AI infrastructure, software, and IaaS is key to this growth, according to the research firm. “These shifts are reinforcing a multi‑speed IT market, with hyperscaler purchases and AI‑centric software segments significantly outperforming more traditional categories,” Gartner reported in a statement.

John-David Lovelock, analyst and distinguished vice president at Gartner, underscored that accelerated momentum in AI infrastructure and advanced memory played a significant role in the firm’s growth revision.

“As AI workloads scale, datacenter investment is ramping rapidly, which in turn is driving increased demand for high‑performance compute,” Lovelock said in the statement. “This dynamic is creating meaningful growth opportunities for companies delivering AI‑optimised processors, accelerators, and enabling technologies.”

What will grow the most? Spending on datacenter systems, at 55.8%, to exceed $787 million in 2026.

Supply constraints and strong demand have also resulted in record price increases for high-bandwidth memory, according to Lovelock, as hyperscaler demand drives sharp increases in investments in servers. “These trends collectively make AI infrastructure the most attractive segment for capitalising on the robust expansion in IT spending,” he said.

Those same higher memory prices are impacting device replacement cycles, according to the firm. Device spending is growing, to be sure, but at a lower rate (8.2%) than the IT sector overall.

“Together, these dynamics highlight a widening divergence across IT markets, as AI infrastructure and GenAI software see substantial upward revisions while device growth reflects ongoing cost and pricing pressures,” Lovelock noted.