Tech Giant’s Move to Sell Teams and Office Products Separately Goes Worldwide
Microsoft has announced its decision to globally sell its chat and video app, Teams, separately from its Office suite, marking a significant shift in its product strategy. This move comes amidst ongoing antitrust scrutiny, particularly from the European Commission, following complaints from competitors about Microsoft’s bundling practices.
The European Commission has been investigating Microsoft’s tying of Office and Teams since 2020, prompted by a complaint from Slack, a competing workspace messaging app owned by Salesforce. Microsoft’s decision to unbundle Teams from Office in Europe last year was seen as a preemptive measure to avoid potential antitrust fines from the EU.
Teams, initially introduced as a free addition to Office 365 in 2017, gained widespread popularity during the pandemic, especially for its video conferencing capabilities, after replacing Skype for Business. However, competitors argue that bundling these products gives Microsoft an unfair advantage in the market.
In response to feedback and to address concerns raised by the European Commission, Microsoft has now extended its unbundling efforts globally. This means that customers worldwide will have the option to purchase Teams and Office as separate products, providing multinational companies with more flexibility in their purchasing decisions across different regions.
Microsoft’s blog post outlines the introduction of new commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that exclude Teams outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Additionally, a standalone Teams offering for Enterprise customers in those regions will be made available.
Starting April 1st, customers can choose to continue with their existing licensing arrangements, renew, update, or switch to the new offerings. The pricing for Office without Teams will vary depending on the product, ranging from $7.75 to $54.75 for new commercial customers. Meanwhile, Teams Standalone will be priced at $5.25. However, prices may vary by country and currency.
Despite these measures, Microsoft’s unbundling efforts may not fully alleviate concerns raised by rivals and regulatory authorities. Criticisms regarding the level of fees and interoperability of messaging services with Office Web Applications persist, potentially leading to further antitrust charges against the tech giant.
Microsoft, having incurred significant EU antitrust fines in the past decade, faces the risk of substantial penalties if found guilty of antitrust breaches, underscoring the importance of navigating regulatory scrutiny in today’s competitive landscape.
