Amazon Battles Microsoft With Cloud Computing Lobbying Groups (1)

Amazon.com Inc. is the driving force behind a trio of advocacy groups working to thwart Microsoft Corp.‘s growing ambition to become a major cloud computing contractor for governments, a Bloomberg analysis shows.

The groups — the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing and the Alliance for Digital Innovation — want to convince policymakers that Microsoft has improperly locked customers into Azure, its cloud computing service, choking off its rivals and hindering the advancement of technology within the government and beyond.

These groups have dozens of members. But Amazon is the biggest funder for two ...