Microsoft to unbundle Teams with Office 365 & Microsoft 365 amid antitrust pressure

Microsoft has announced its decision to separate its chat and video app Teams from its Office suite globally, a move aimed at addressing antitrust concerns while providing customers with more flexibility in their purchasing options. This decision comes six months after the tech giant unbundled the two products in Europe to avoid potential fines from the European Union.

The European Commission initiated an investigation into Microsoft's bundling of Office and Teams following a complaint lodged in 2020 by Salesforce-owned competitor Slack. Teams, originally integrated into Office 365 in 2017, gained traction during the pandemic, particularly for its video conferencing capabilities after replacing Skype for Business.

Critics argue that Microsoft's bundling strategy gave the company an unfair advantage in the market. In response to feedback and regulatory scrutiny, Microsoft began selling Office and Teams separately in the European Economic Area and Switzerland last October.

A spokesperson for Microsoft stated, "To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally." This move aims to provide multinational companies with more options for standardising their purchasing practices across different regions.

In a blog post, Microsoft outlined its plans to introduce new commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites excluding Teams in regions outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Additionally, a standalone Teams offering for Enterprise customers will be made available in those regions.

Starting April 1, customers will have the option to continue with their current licensing agreements, renew, update, or switch to the new offers. For new commercial customers, Office without Teams will be priced between $7.75 and $54.75, depending on the product, while standalone Teams will cost $5.25. Prices may vary by country and currency.

Despite Microsoft's efforts to address antitrust concerns, sources suggest that these measures may not be sufficient to prevent potential charges from the EU. Rivals continue to criticise the fees associated with Microsoft's services and raise concerns about the compatibility of their own messaging platforms with Office Web Applications.

Microsoft faces the risk of significant fines, with potential penalties amounting to as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of antitrust violations. Over the past decade, the company has accrued 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in EU antitrust fines related to the bundling of products.