Microsoft to Unbundle Teams from Office Suite Amid Antitrust Reviews
In response to antitrust concerns, Microsoft is making changes to its product offerings by decoupling its chat and video application Teams from the Office suite on a worldwide scale. This adjustment follows a 2020 complaint lodged by Salesforce-owned Slack, which prompted an investigation by the European Commission into whether Microsoft's practice of bundling Office and Teams stifled competition.
The company has introduced new commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites without Teams for regions outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Moreover, a new standalone Teams option is being made available for enterprise customers. These changes, effective from April 1, provide customers the choice to either stick with their existing licensing arrangements or opt for the updated or new offerings.
The decision to separate these services is seen as a strategic move to preclude potential EU antitrust fines. Microsoft has faced significant fines in the past for similar bundling issues and could potentially be fined up to 10% of its global annual turnover if found to be in violation of antitrust regulations. The company had already begun selling Teams and Office separately within the EU and Switzerland as of August 31 of the previous year.
