Microsoft Slips Unscathed Through Eu Competition Probe After Promising To Unbundle Teams

Thanks to a promise to unbundle its firm messaging app Teams from its productivity suites, Microsoft has managed to gaffe unscathed done a awesome antitrust investigation by nan European Commission that could person resulted successful monolithic fines for nan tech giant.

The Commission connected Friday okayed Microsoft’s concessions to reside nan EU’s title concerns complete nan institution including Teams on pinch nan remainder of its Office productivity suite for free, concluding a multi-year investigation that was sparked by complaints from rival agency messaging app Slack successful 2020.

Microsoft has promised that for nan adjacent 7 years, it will supply Microsoft 365 and Office 365 without Teams astatine a little price, and will fto customers take whether they want to salary much to adhd nan collaboration app to nan suites. The Commission has besides managed to get Microsoft to work together to unfastened up its APIs to alteration interoperability for cardinal features betwixt its suite and third-party messaging and collaboration tools, arsenic good arsenic fto them export their information retired of teams for nan adjacent 5 years.

Microsoft did not instantly return a petition for further specifications astir its commitments.

In its investigation, nan European authority accused Microsoft of breaching title rules by bundling teams pinch its productivity suites, abusing its ascendant position and granting Teams an undue advantage. In its preliminary findings, nan Commission besides said that advantage was improved because Teams was integrated pinch different Microsoft 365 apps for illustration Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and Word.

Microsoft attempted to allay those concerns by implementing a partial unbundling of Teams successful April 2024, but nan Commission felt much extended changes were needed, pursuing which nan institution offered a revised scheme successful May 2025.

This support is simply a win-win for some nan EU and Microsoft, particularly because location was nary ineligible battle. The Commission tin opportunity it’s wrung a large discuss from Big Tech. Now, Microsoft is voluntarily offering immoderate versions of some its productivity suites without Teams astatine a 50% little value compared to versions that bundle nan app, worldwide.

Microsoft besides dodged punitive measures and a large fine, arsenic nan Commission’s penalties for breaching title rules tin scope up to 10% of yearly world gross — which, considering nan tech elephantine past twelvemonth recorded $245 cardinal successful revenue, would person been truckloads of money.

The Commission besides noted that Slack and Alfaview, different institution that had complained astir Teams, person withdrawn their complaints pursuing a marketplace trial by nan Commission earlier this year.

“With today’s decision, we make binding for 7 years aliases much Microsoft’s commitments to put an extremity to its tying practices that whitethorn beryllium preventing rivals from efficaciously competing pinch Teams,” Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition astatine nan European Commission, said successful a statement.

“Today’s determination truthful opens up title successful this important market, and ensures that businesses tin freely take nan connection and collaboration merchandise that champion suits their needs,” said Ribera.