As of October 2023, Microsoft Teams will no longer be offered as part of the company’s 365 suite to users in Europe as the company tries to appease regulators.
Last month, the European Commission launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s inclusion of its video conferencing software in the Office bundle. It followed a complaint from productivity rival Slack, who claimed it was illegal.
Nanna-Louise Linde, vice president of Microsoft European Government Affairs, said the changes will also “look to address these concerns in a meaningful way, even as the European Commission’s investigation continues and we work with it.”
Unbundling
Linde added that “These changes will affect our Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites for business customers in the European Economic Area and Switzerland.”
Enterprise customers on the continent can therefore subscribe to Microsoft 365 at the lower cost of €24 per year. Newcomers who want Teams must pay for a separate standalone version, which costs € 5 per month or € 60 per year.
Existing subscribers will remain unaffected, so they can continue to use Teams as part of their 365 package, or downgrade to the cheaper version without Teams if desired.
Teams will also continue to be bundled with Microsoft 365 small business business plans, even for new subscribers. Again, there will also be the option for these customers to omit Teams from the bundle, saving $1 per month for the Business Basic tiers or saving $2 for the Business Standard and Premium plans.
In addition, Microsoft says it will also improve documentation related to interoperability between 365 products — such as Exchange, Outlook, and Teams — and competing software such as Slack and Zoom. Office web apps can also be hosted at such rivals.
Slack’s original complaint came from 2020 during the pandemic, alleging that by linking Teams to Office, Microsoft had “forced millions to install it, block its removal, and hide its true cost from business customers.”
The EU has yet to confirm whether Microsoft’s move to unbundle Teams will be decisive, but Linde seems confident: “We believe these changes balance the interests of our competitors with those of European corporate customers, they get access to the best possible solutions at competitive prices.”
However, she also acknowledged that this “is still in the early stages of formal investigation by the European Commission. We will continue to work with the Commission, listen to market concerns and remain open to exploring pragmatic solutions that benefit both customers and consumers.” developers in Europe.”