The appointment takes effect immediately. Maxson joins from Schneider Electric, where she served as group CFO.

The company generates more than $45 billion in annual revenue and has seen strong demand linked to data centre growth.

At Oracle, she steps into the role at a time when spending is increasing. The company has been investing heavily in data centres, multicloud systems and AI-ready infrastructure. Demand for those services continues to outpace supply.

Maxson said she would focus on disciplined investment. “I aim to ensure continued disciplined investment for creating lasting value for both customers and shareholders.”

Her background in energy could prove useful. Data centres require large amounts of power, and efficiency has become a growing concern as companies scale AI systems. Oracle has been increasing capacity while managing the cost and complexity that comes with it.

Oracle is growing fast, but that growth is expensive. The company has taken on more debt to support its build-out, and investors are watching closely.

In its latest quarter, Oracle reported its best results in 15 years, with revenue growth above 20%. Even so, its stock has struggled this year. Shares were trading around $146 on April 6, still about 25% below their 52-week high despite a slight rise in early trading.

Investors have pointed to the high debt levels and the cost of scaling AI infrastructure. Competition is also intense, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google continuing to invest heavily in their own cloud platforms.

Maxson, 48, will receive a base salary of $950,000 and is eligible for a performance-based bonus with a target of $2.5 million, according to a regulatory filing.

Her appointment also brings a change in leadership structure. Doug Kehring, who has handled the finance role for the past six months, will step down and return to leading go-to-market operations.

Hilary Maxson will report directly to Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk, revealing a stronger link between finance and the company’s cloud growth plans.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Tuesday it will take a fresh look at Microsoft’s approaches, months after deciding not to act on earlier findings.

This time, the regulator is considering whether to give Microsoft “strategic market status” in business software, and this would allow closer oversight and direct intervention.

At the centre of the case is how Microsoft links its software, including Windows Server and Microsoft 365, to its own cloud platform. Regulators have noted that customers face extra costs when they try to run these tools on rival services.

That, they say, makes it harder for businesses to switch providers or spread workloads across different clouds.

Companies want flexibility and when pricing or licensing regulations get in the way, it limits choice and raises expenses.

The UK cloud market is tough. Amazon and Microsoft each control about 30 to 40% of the sector, covering services such as storage, processing and networking.

Google follows with a much smaller share of around 5 to 10%. Earlier findings from the regulator said this level of concentration was already affecting competition.

The CMA noted that both Microsoft and Amazon have recently taken steps to ease some of the pressure. These include reducing certain fees tied to moving data between platforms and improving how systems work together. Still, the watchdog expects more changes in the coming months.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the regulator is acting in a “flexible, pragmatic way to deliver real impact, as quickly as possible for UK customers”.

She added: “Cloud remains central to our approach – we’ve seen real progress through our engagement with Microsoft and Amazon to drive meaningful improvements on egress fees and interoperability and we expect more action from them over the coming months.”

Microsoft says the cloud licensing adjustments it has agreed to focus on data transfers, switching between providers and system compatibility.

Its vice chairman and president, Brad Smith, said: “The changes address the CMA’s commitment to ensuring that UK customers can continue to move, deploy, and operate their workloads in the clouds of their choice with confidence, flexibility, and ever-reduced friction.”

Amazon, for its part, said the steps it has taken formalise its support for customer choice, including the ability to run services across multiple cloud platforms.

Beyond the UK, regulators in both the European Union and the United States are examining similar issues in cloud computing. The focus is largely the same, reviewing whether large providers are using their position in software and infrastructure to limit competition.

Lodged in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the lawsuit accuses the tech giant of overcharging businesses for Windows Server licenses when they were using rival cloud platforms like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud. 

The suit alleges that customers using these competitors were forced to pay higher fees for Microsoft’s software than those using Microsoft’s own Azure cloud services.

This lawsuit adds to the issues surrounding the cloud computing market, particularly the pricing of tech giants like Microsoft. Recent developments have seen the U.S. Federal Trade Commission launch an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s software and cloud computing divisions. 

Similarly, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the cloud services market, with a particular focus on Amazon and Microsoft. 

The CMA’s investigation, which follows a referral from the communications regulator Ofcom, is still ongoing, with no final report expected until next year.

In Europe, Microsoft has already had some settlements over similar accusations. In July 2023, the company reached a €20 million settlement with the cloud services trade association CISPE, resolving an antitrust complaint filed by the EU. 

This settlement, though smaller in comparison to the £1 billion sought in the UK lawsuit, has likely led to further litigation, as financial settlements often attract the attention of legal funders.

The UK lawsuit is being funded by Litigation Capital Management (LCM), a global dispute finance provider, and is spearheaded by Dr Maria Luisa Stasi, an expert in competition law. 

Dr Stasi claims that Microsoft’s actions are designed to push UK businesses towards its Azure platform, stifling competition by penalising customers using other cloud services. 

According to her, the lawsuit will demand Microsoft disclose the extent of the overcharging and seek compensation for businesses that were allegedly harmed by these practices.

The legal proceedings are expected to include thousands of UK-based businesses that are automatically included in the suit unless they choose to opt-out. 

No upfront costs are required from these businesses, and they stand to gain compensation if the lawsuit succeeds. Microsoft has yet to respond to the allegations.

Verofax utilizes patented technology incorporating Blockchain, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence to provide ‘Traceability as a Service’, enabling brands to turn their offline products interactive, and manage their entire supply chain to trace goods, fend off counterfeit activities, and improve manufacturers’ productivity.

Brands can extend their reach directly to end-consumers, thereby increasing consumer intimacy with direct engagement, and leveraging the boom in NFTs and metaverse experiences.

The funds will be used to expand the Company’s sales and marketing activities on a global level, ahead of a planned Series A round later in 2022.

Verofax solutions are applicable to a wide range of industries (Retail and CPG) and are already used by leading brands such as Anheuser Busch Inc.

Verofax is a Microsoft Gold partner, and has secured a global network of distributors and resellers, and co-selling on enterprise solution platforms including Microsoft Appsource, Amazon AWS and Ant Group Antchain.

Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, said: “Our solution helps brands turn their products into a direct-to-consumer communication channel and deliver amazing experiences to drive growth and boost loyalty while also promoting greener product choices and ESG auditability. Verofax also helps turn give-aways into collectible and tradeable NFTs, interoperable across several metaverse environments. We are thrilled to be joined by investors that will help accelerate our growth trajectory through their collective expertise, network, and leadership.”

Robert Cohen, managing director of lead investor Benson Oak Ventures, said: “We have a very specific investment thesis that brands will leverage Web 3 & NFTs to reinvent their engagement & business models with consumers, creating entirely new service categories. Verofax has demonstrated early product market fit, leveraging its proprietary technology to sell its Traceability solution to many different types of brands and help them navigate this new world. We have been incredibly impressed by Wassim and the whole Verofax team, and thrilled to be making this our first investment in the UAE.”

Chetan Mehta, CEO of Wami Capital, said, “Verofax Blockchain-based traceability and validation solution empowers brands in the consumer goods and retail industry to promote sustainable products and allows consumers to choose greener brands and enjoy immersive experiences. Verofax traceability prevents counterfeiting in the supply chain across pharmaceutical, manufacturing, consumer, retail and logistics. We look forward to working with Verofax team to accelerate the adoption of their solution across our ecosystem.”