Introduction: The Growing Shadow of Microsoft
For decades, Microsoft has shaped the way small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use technology. From operating systems and email servers to productivity suites and now cloud infrastructure, the company has gradually expanded its control over the IT services landscape. Today, many SMEs find themselves caught in Microsoft’s ecosystem not by choice, but by lack of alternatives that feel “safe.”
But this convenience and perceived reliability come at a cost — one that is growing steadily and showing no sign of slowing.
From Ownership to Rental: The Cloud Pricing Shift
The move from on-premise servers and perpetual software licences to cloud-based services like Microsoft 365 was initially sold as flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. And for a while, it was. But as on-premise alternatives have been deliberately weakened or withdrawn, the subscription model has become the only viable option for many SMEs.
The result? Businesses are paying more over time for services that once had predictable costs and longer life cycles. For SMEs with 25 or more users, the ongoing rental costs of Microsoft 365 are now significantly higher than the total cost of ownership of the systems they replaced.
Hidden Costs: Security and Management Add-Ons
Microsoft’s subscription pricing also hides complexity. While entry-level 365 bundles may look attractive on paper, most SMEs quickly discover that they need additional security, compliance, and management features to meet their real-world requirements. Those add-ons stack up, turning what seemed like a manageable monthly cost into a far larger ongoing expense.
Azure: The Default — but at What Price?
Microsoft Azure has quietly become the de-facto choice for cloud infrastructure in the SME space. Not necessarily because it’s the best option, but because:
- Microsoft steadily withdraws support for on-premise alternatives.
- CFOs prefer opex to capex, even if the long-term cost is higher.
- Risk-averse decision-makers fall back on the old mantra: “No one ever got fired for buying Microsoft.”
The reality, however, is that Azure is complex, expensive, and designed in ways that make moving away increasingly difficult over time.
The Lock-In Playbook: A Familiar Pattern
Microsoft has a long history of using its market power to create dependencies and then monetising them more aggressively once customers are trapped. We’re seeing the same pattern play out in the cloud era:
- Introduce cloud services at a compelling price.
- Weaken or retire on-premise alternatives.
- Make the cloud platform a default standard.
- Incrementally raise prices and reduce flexibility.
For SMEs, this creates long-term risk: higher costs, reduced choice, and dependence on a single supplier’s roadmap.
A Smarter Alternative: MyCloud Computing from Cerberus
At Cerberus, we believe SMEs deserve more than “one-size-fits-all” IT from a global monopoly. That’s why we created MyCloud Computing:
- Comparable or better performance than Azure at lower costs.
- Flexible configuration without hidden add-on charges.
- Transparent pricing and no long-term lock-in.
- UK-based support with a focus on SMEs, not enterprise giants.
With MyCloud Computing, you get the agility and cost savings of cloud infrastructure without surrendering control of your IT strategy to Microsoft.
Conclusion: Don’t Let Microsoft Decide for You
The shift to cloud computing is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to mean higher costs, greater complexity, and tighter lock-in to Microsoft’s ecosystem. SMEs that want to protect their budgets and retain choice should look beyond Azure and 365 to alternatives that put them back in control.
At Cerberus, we’re here to help you make the cloud work for your business — not the other way around.