MICROSOFT, IT’S NOT YOU. OKAY, MAYBE IT IS YOU.

The UK is asking awkward questions about Microsoft’s business software. And if you’re running a business on Microsoft 365, there’s something you should probably think about.

You know that relationship where you’ve been together so long that separating your belongings sounds more exhausting than staying?

You’ve got furniture together. Shared accounts. A Netflix subscription. The dog.

Well, for a lot of businesses, Microsoft 365 has become that relationship.

Your emails are in Outlook.

Your documents are in OneDrive and SharePoint.

Your meetings happen in Teams.

Your staff log in using Microsoft accounts.

Your business processes depend on services that depend on other services.

And before you know it, leaving the Microsoft ecosystem becomes about as straightforward as untangling Christmas lights that have spent eleven months in a cupboard.

The UK’s competition regulator has some questions

On 16 October 2026, Reuters reported that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority had proposed giving Microsoft strategic market status in business software.

The regulator is examining concerns around software bundling, customer choice and barriers to switching providers, including the role of artificial intelligence.

A final decision was expected by February 2027.

Microsoft disputes the regulator’s concerns.

It’s important to be clear: this is a proposed UK regulatory process, not a finding that Microsoft has broken South African law.

But regardless of how the investigation turns out, it raises a question that every business using cloud services should ask.

If you wanted to leave your current provider tomorrow, could you actually take your business with you?

Let’s be fair to Microsoft

Microsoft 365 is popular for good reasons.

For many businesses, the combination of Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint and Microsoft Office works exceptionally well.

It’s familiar, integrated and relatively straightforward to manage when properly configured.

And for small businesses, having several services under one provider can simplify administration.

We’re not suggesting everyone should rush out and replace Microsoft with something else.

That would be ridiculous.

We manage Microsoft 365 environments ourselves, and there are plenty of situations where it’s the right choice.

The problem isn’t necessarily using Microsoft.

The problem is not knowing what would happen if you ever wanted to stop.

Your business data should never feel like a hostage

Imagine you’ve spent the past six years operating your business using Microsoft 365.

Your SharePoint contains hundreds of thousands of documents.

Employees have years of email history.

Your workflows use Power Automate.

Your staff identities depend on Microsoft Entra ID.

Several applications authenticate through your Microsoft environment.

Now imagine you’ve decided to move to another provider.

Where do you start?

Can you export everything?

Will file permissions survive the move?

What happens to shared mailboxes?

Which third-party applications will stop authenticating?

Will your automations still function?

Do you even know which services your business is paying for?

Suddenly, changing providers becomes a project rather than a decision.

And that’s the real issue.

Four questions every business should ask

1. Where does our information actually live?

It sounds obvious.

But you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t have a clear picture of where their files, email, backups and business-critical data are stored.

Start with an inventory.

2. Can we export our information?

Knowing that an export feature exists isn’t the same as having a workable exit plan.

Large SharePoint libraries, shared mailboxes, permissions and connected systems may need additional planning.

3. What depends on our Microsoft accounts?

Your Microsoft identity environment might be doing far more than simply logging employees into email.

Third-party applications, business software, automated workflows and security controls may all depend on it.

Those dependencies should be documented.

4. Do we have independent backups and recovery procedures?

Cloud storage and backup are not interchangeable concepts.

A synchronised file that’s accidentally deleted or corrupted may require a different recovery approach from a proper independent backup.

Understand what your current services protect, what they don’t, and how recovery would work.

Should you switch to LibreOffice or another platform?

Possibly.

For some people, alternatives such as LibreOffice might meet their document-editing needs perfectly well.

But replacing Microsoft 365 is rarely as simple as installing a different word processor.

There’s email hosting, collaboration, authentication, storage, security and compatibility to consider.

And the cheapest-looking option isn’t always the cheapest once migration, training and support are included.

The goal shouldn’t be to leave Microsoft for the sake of leaving.

The goal should be to make informed decisions without becoming unnecessarily dependent on any single provider.

The bottom line

You don’t need to break up with Microsoft.

You just need to make sure you know where your belongings are.

Understand your licences. Document your dependencies. Know how your information can be exported. Have a recovery plan.

Because being happy with a service is great.

Being unable to leave it is something else entirely.

Need help understanding your Microsoft 365 environment?

RandTech IT helps South African businesses with Microsoft 365 management, cloud migrations, data protection and technology planning.

We can help you understand what you have, how it all connects, and what options are available.

No awkward breakup conversation required.