Beltug and sister associations have key meeting with Microsoft

Danielle Jacobs, CEO of Beltug, explains:

“As Microsoft is such an important service provider to so many companies across Europe (including our own members), we were delighted to have the opportunity to discuss and exchange with them on the ‘11 Fair Principles’ and the need for responsible practices. While Microsoft products and services are appreciated, there are specific concerns customers across European countries share. We (i.e., the four associations) ‘challenged’ Microsoft on topics such as the fairness of certain price increases, the ease of/ability to switch and exit, and data confidentiality, especially when data are stored outside Europe. The interest Microsoft showed in understanding their European customers’ perspectives was encouraging.” 

The topics discussed in the meeting were linked to three specific Principles from the ‘11 Fair Principles’ proposal:

• Principle 1 – Vendors shall fulfil existing regulatory obligations
• Principle 2 – Vendors shall not create any technical or commercial lock-in
• Principle 3 – The customer shall remain in control of their data and all the data uploaded or processed by the Service

The fruitful exchange between the associations and Microsoft yielded concrete initiatives, and an understanding of the benefits of maintaining a ‘continuous forum’ that will enable ongoing and transparent discussions on topics that are significant to the members of the four associations. Beltug, Cigref, CIO Platform and VOICE call on Microsoft to ensure that these are followed up in practice, and become a reality.

Furthermore, the four associations are now working together to determine how to optimise the conclusions from the meeting, to best benefit our members.