Can a cloud be a bubble? Yes, if we talk about the data cloud manufacture as another speculative financial bubble, which poses a serious threat to citizens' privacy (even those not individual users) and data security.
The situation in the UK, where this sector is organised in the form of classical oligopoly, is characteristic in this respect, with full cognition and even support from the British government. As Amazon is the number 1 player in this market, it cannot be amazing that at the same time this corp escapes impunity not only the violation of workers' rights, but besides many and deliberate violations so delicate to the (un)political stableness of UK immigration regulations.
Britain in the hands of Amazon and Microsoft
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is simply a power, not only in the British market. According to Ofcom (the regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries), "The data cloud infrastructure marketplace in the UK in 2022 was worth from 7.0 to 7.5 billion poundsIt’s okay. ” Within its framework ‘There are 2 leading suppliers ... Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, with a combined marketplace share of between 70% and 80%. Their biggest competitor remains Google, with a share of between 5% and 10%. In total, these companies are referred to as ‘hyperscalers’ and the vast majority of data cloud customers usage their services“[1]. However, it is not easy to find how much of the income of oligopoly comes from public funds. The October 2023 Ofcom study counted a full of £363 million acquired under public contracts concluded through the G-Cloud platform from 2022 to 2023. However, it is known that in the next 2 months only Amazon signed 3 additional public contracts with a full value of £894 million. So it is presently estimated that Amazon Web Services controls around 30% to 40% of the full data cloud marketplace in the UK.[2].
Thus, as we can see, there has been the formation of an oligopoly, which is simply a typical consequence of the technological dominance of large corporations from one, and... the kindness of politicians and officials on the another hand, or something that does not even pretend to be a "free marketplace game" anymore.[3].
Everyone's involved.
In view of the public objections raised by the omitted, mostly national competition, Ofcom conducted a peculiar investigation into the supply of cloud services in the UK, and his final study of October 5, 2023 confirmed that there were ‘reasoned grounds to suspect’that any "data cloud public service marketplace features prevent, restrict or distort competition in the UK". Ofcom so decided to mention the case to Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), or the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)[4].
In the meantime, public institutions, despite ongoing antitrust proceedings, not only proceed but besides grow their cooperation with AWS. And so in December 2023 the Crown Commercial Service (responsible for the supervision of public procurement of state institutions) extended the price preferences agreement with AWS, the alleged One Government Value Agreement (OGVA), under which "Public sector IT purchasers gain access to discounts for AWS spending and services, and the first version of the three-year Memorandum of knowing (MoU) offers users basic discounts of 18%"[5]. They took advantage of the offer, among others. Home Office (Ministry of Home Affairs)[6], HM gross and Customs (IRS)[7] and Department for Work and Pensions (retirement institution and social welfare)[8], which inactive in the same period renewed their three-year contracts with Amazon for a full of £894 million, which is more than all AWS contracts in the UK over the erstwhile decade. Further institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, were besides in line to extend their corporate contracts in April 2024, HM Land Registry (Main Office of the Earth), Department for Leaving Up, Housing and Communities[9] (representing housing and levelling the standard of surviving between regions) and... The Competition and marketplace Authority (CMA), i.e. the same Antitrust Office that Amazon warned against marketplace dominance, while in May 2024 it benefited from preferential rates and doubled its existing contract with AWS to £437, 151. As 1 might have guessed, it only raised doubts about the reliability of antitrust proceedings[10].
Privatisation of e-Brithania
Fortunately for government factors (even more connected with the civilian service, actually leading the United Kingdom than with individual political groups) – the issue is inactive besides airtight to meet with interest outside the industry's IT planet and its nerd e-biuletins Although he wrote about dominance in the cloud with half a mouth even the social-liberal "The Guardian", mostly in mainstream media as well as among parliamentary political parties the reluctance to mess with the level Jeff Bezos and Bila Gates It turned out to be someway strangely stronger. As a result, it has been ignored that global corporations actually control the data resources formally managed by public trust institutions. This is the real privatisation of the British e-state, with the current Labour Government explicitly promoting investments aimed at centralising data management and so beneficial to global corporations[11]. Just in case, Amazon and Microsoft were arguing that further anti-trust action "may negatively affect their ability to invest in their British infrastructure"[12].
Amazon's Human Zoo
In particular, Amazon feels stronger than His Majesty's government, and this despite the fact that the large warehouses and logistics centres, which are inactive the main focus of this corporation, are actually operating in the grey economy, again – with the cognition and approval of the state authorities. A dramatic example of specified practices is the conflict of Amazon staff at Coventry to legalise their union organization. Before losing yet in July 2024 a conflict for designation of the trade union of GMB Amazon[13] The workers there fought a real driveway war with a global corporation. Amazon has replaced employees active in the creation of an immigrant union, mostly pretending to be students, or "necessary for the British professional economy". Corporate catchers brought all the South Asian villages to England, whose residents were issued with papers to confirm high-quality qualifications and advanced cognition of the language, although they mostly had no thought where or precisely what they were going for, and much little what they would do. The remainder was done by political influences, and on the place by the progressive automation, specified visitors truly request small to be explained, due to the fact that training is replaced by an electronic bracelet, which, for example, directs the worker's hand in the right direction, if he reaches for the incorrect goods or dresses idle besides long.
For Amazon, specified recruitment mode meant all the pluses. The corp did not pay the workers they brought in until they obtained confirmation of the position and the right to work – but, of course, it inactive enforced the free work of immigrants. Visitors were besides frightened to request payoffs, students (real and for visas only) were mistakenly informed that they could not join unions, and any complaint would end with deportation without the right to return to the UK. The fast increase in employment did not reduce the burden on existing employees, but allowed an artificial simplification in the percent of the union to justify its deficiency of designation by the management (according to liberalised regulations in the UK, the union organisation in the workplace can be legalised and considered typical only after obtaining 50% + 1 crew support). Amazon so prefers to lure workers from the another end of the world, creating a modern version of the human zoo, only to avoid negotiating wages and employment conditions with legal union representation. And he has reason to, due to the fact that there is simply a fundamental imbalance between labour productivity and wages in Amazon magazines. With a capacity of £3,000 a day, the average regular wage is around £ 135. The additional value achieved by Amazon is so record-breakingly advanced even on this scale of activity.
Capital devoured Britain
All of this, let us repeat, is happening with the engagement of the British government, its border services, immigration and labour marketplace surveillance. This confirms again that the alleged defence of the UK borders, which the Tories say so much about, and the protection of workers' rights, on which the Labourists supposedly so desire – are fictions, giving way to typically British submission to the interests of large capital. Capital, which besides controls the key points of British state structures by means of full legal data.
So not only is Britain no longer an empire, but it itself has become an easy prey and nourishment for fresh imperialism.
Konrad Hand
[4]https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-CMA-anti-trust-investment-into-AWS-and-Microsoft-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656dfdf59462260705c568c4/AWS_Response_to_CMA_s_Issues_Statement_dated_23_November_2023.pdf
[8]https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aws-wins-94m-contract-with-uk-govs-dwp/
