Back in July, we reported that the European Union (EU) commenced an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s bundling of its Teams video platform with Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Just a month later, Microsoft has bowed to pressure from the EU. The company has now announced that it will unbundle its chat and video app, Teams, from its Office product in Europe.
The company is doing this in an effort to ease EU antitrust concerns. This move comes after European Union regulators opened an antitrust probe into the action by the company. According to Reuters, the complaint filed by Salesforce’s workspace messaging app Slack is yielding good results.
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“The European Commission is concerned that Microsoft may be abusing and asserting its market position in productivity software by restricting competition in communications and collaboration products in the European Economic Area,” the European Commission said in a statement.
What does this mean for Microsoft and its users?
The unbundling of Teams from Office in Europe means that users in EU markets will be able to buy Microsoft 365 at a lower monthly price. It also means that users will have more flexibility to choose which Microsoft products they want to use. They will no longer be required to buy Teams as part of an Office service.
However, it is important to note that this change only applies to users in Europe. Microsoft has not announced any plans to unbundle Teams from Office in other markets at this time. The EU regulators will check the latest decision by the company to ascertain if it meets their needs. They will also decide whether or not to fine the company.
Final Words
Microsoft’s decision to unbundle Teams from Office in Europe is a big move. This could have a good impact on the company and its users. The EU will now decide if the new change meets its needs. It will also meet to decide if there will be formal charges levelled against Microsoft.
