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Microsoft may avoid EU antitrust fine after unbundling Teams from Office

In 2020, Microsoft came under investigation from authorities in the European Union regarding its bundling of Teams with Office 365. Teams' rival Slack had complained that Microsoft had an unfair advantage because the messaging and videoconferencing software was preinstalled for those who subscribed to Office, and that this breached competition rules.

The authorities had been considering slapping a fine on the American company for failing to adhere to the laws. In 2023, Microsoft decided to split Teams away from Office 365, to comply with the rules. In April 2024, this change was made globally.

Microsoft also adjusted the pricing structure of its services, i.e. to buy Office without Teams. It also allowed users a choice to buy them together, to ensure fair competition with rival services. But, these measures were not sufficient to convince its competitors. Germany-based Alfaview had also lodged a complaint with antitrust officials regarding Teams. Microsoft has since made some further changes to the pricing to widen the gap between the bundles.

The company has also proposed that it will allow interoperability in Teams, by allowing rivals to access Microsoft products and services including Office web apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It has also proposed to allow Teams users to migrate to competitor's products.  Microsoft has offered to commit to these changes for seven years, except for interoperability and data portability obligations, these would remain in force for ten years. An official statement regarding the commitments has been published on Microsoft's website.

Reports indicate that antitrust regulators in the EU are pleased with the changes that have been proposed by Microsoft. They are reportedly considering accepting them, providing that Salesforce, which owns Slack, and other competitors are satisfied with the proposal submitted by Microsoft. If they do accept it, Microsoft will avoid the antitrust fine from the European Union.

Standalone versions of Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 will reach end of support in October 2025.

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