Microsoft to Unbundle Teams From its Office 365 Commercial Plans in Europe

Microsoft, which is currently facing an investigation from the European Commission regarding its bundling of Teams with its Microsoft 365/Office 365 commercial plans, decided to act proactively today. The company will change how it licenses Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams in Europe and Switzerland and offer new plans that don’t include Teams.

We’ve known about these Teams unbundling plans for a couple of months now, but it all started with Slack filing an antitrust complaint against Microsoft before the European Commission three years ago. Slack previously described Microsoft Teams as “weak copycat product” that only became successful because Microsoft “tied it to their dominant Office product, force installing it and blocking its removal.”

Well, fast forward to 2023, Microsoft is ready to make some changes to address the concerns from the European Commission. “We recognize our responsibility as a major technology provider to support a healthy competitive environment. We appreciate the clarity that has emerged on several of the concerns from extensive and constructive discussions with the European Commission,” said Nanna-Louise Linde, Vice President, Microsoft European Government Affairs.

Well, for now, Microsoft is only willing to unbundle Teams from its Microsoft 365/Office 365 commercial plans in Europe… but you have to start somewhere, right? So, starting October 1, 2023, Microsoft will start selling its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 commercial subscriptions without Teams, allowing customers to save €2 per month or €24 per year. Teams will remain available as a standalone subscription at €5/month or €60/year.

Microsoft’s core enterprise customers in Europe who prefer to keep their existing plans with Teams included will be able to do so after October 1. For small businesses and frontline workers, however, Microsoft will offer Microsoft 365/Office 365 plans with or without Teams. Again, the new plans without Teams will be slightly cheaper. You can find more pricing details for all these new EU-specific plans in this FAQ.

Lastly, Microsoft made two other Teams-related announcements to appease EU regulators: The company will offer improved documentation for developers interested in integrating their apps with Teams. Moreover, Microsoft will make it easy for third-party apps to provide access to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem via Microsoft’s Office web apps.

“We believe these changes balance the interests of our competitors with those of European business customers, providing them with access to the best possible solutions at competitive prices,” the VP of Microsoft European Government Affairs said today. However, the investigation of the EU Commission is still ongoing and it remains to be seen if Microsoft will need to make more concessions.