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EU slaps Microsoft with $2.4bn fine, company to separate Teams and Office amid continuing monopoly lawsuit
Microsoft, currently battling several monopoly lawsuits and already hit with a $2.4 billion penalty, may face further fines. To prevent this, the company plans to market its Teams applications independently from its Office suite.
Microsoft has declared its plans to globally distribute its chat and video application, Teams, independently from its Office suite. This decision comes half a year after the company separated the two products in Europe to tackle possible issues related to EU antitrust laws.
Since 2020, the European Commission has been examining Microsoft's practice of packaging Office and Teams together. This scrutiny was initiated due to a grievance lodged by Slack, a rival workspace communication application owned by Salesforce.
Teams, first introduced to Office 365 at no additional cost in 2017, saw a surge in popularity, especially during the pandemic, due to its video conferencing features, which took over the role of Skype for Business.
Opponents contended that packaging the products gave Microsoft an undue edge. As a result, Microsoft began offering Office and Teams independently in the EU and Switzerland from August 31 of the previous year.
Microsoft has chosen to expand its unbundling worldwide in response to client input and to offer multinational corporations greater purchasing flexibility, as stated by a representative from the company.
Microsoft is implementing changes which involve the global launch of new commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 packages that exclude Teams. Furthermore, Enterprise customers outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland will have access to a separate Teams package.
Starting from April 1, clients have the choice to either maintain their existing license agreements or transition to the new options available.
The cost for Office excluding Teams for fresh business clients is set to range from $7.75 to $54.75. On the other hand, Teams as an individual service will be priced at $5.25. The rates could differ based on the country and type of currency.
Despite Microsoft's attempts to resolve issues related to monopoly practices, they may still face possible allegations from the European Union. Competitors have voiced complaints about the costs and interoperability of their messaging services with Office Web Applications.
Microsoft, which has already paid 2.2 billion Euros in EU antitrust penalties over the last ten years due to product bundling, might have to pay fines amounting to 10% of its worldwide yearly revenue if they are found in breach of antitrust laws.
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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