Report: Microsoft Unbundling Teams From Office 365 Won’t Prevent Formal EU Complaint
- Laurent Giret
- Sep 14, 2023
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Microsoft is currently facing regulatory scrutiny in Europe regarding its bundling of Teams with Office 365. This all started three years ago with an antitrust complaint from Slack in the EU, with the company calling out Microsoft for abusing its dominant position with a “weak, copycat product.”
Last month, Microsoft announced that it would unbundle Teams from its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 commercial subscriptions in Europe starting in October. The company also announced other changes to make it easier for other apps to integrate with Teams and provide access to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem via Microsoft’s Office web apps.
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However, Bloomberg is reporting today that these efforts won’t be enough to get Microsoft out of the European Commission’s crosshairs. According to the report, the EU Commission is still preparing a statement of objections that could be sent to Microsoft over the next few months.
“Microsoft’s recent proposal to split its Teams from a broader business software package and sell it to customers separately with an annual discount wasn’t enough to satisfy regulators’ concerns, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity,” the report reads. “The European Commission is preparing a statement of objections to send to the company, which could come in the next few months, the people said.”
At the moment, it’s not exactly clear why Microsoft’s plan to unbundle Teams from its Office 365 subscriptions didn’t convince EU regulators. Even though the company decided to act proactively while the investigation from the EU Commission is still in its early stages, the software giant also suggested that it was open to negotiations. “We will continue to engage with the Commission, listen to concerns in the marketplace, and remain open to exploring pragmatic solutions that benefit both customers and developers in Europe,” said Nanna-Louise Linde, VP of Microsoft European Government Affairs last month.