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EU slaps Microsoft with a $2.4bn penalty, company to separate Teams and Office amidst continuous monopoly lawsuit
Microsoft, currently entangled in various monopoly lawsuits and already burdened with a $2.4 billion penalty, could be subjected to further sanctions. To prevent this, the company has chosen to market its Teams applications independently of its Office suite.
Microsoft has declared its plan to market its chat and video application, Teams, independently from its Office product worldwide. This decision comes half a year after it separated the two products in Europe to tackle possible antitrust issues raised by the EU.
The European Commission has been probing into Microsoft's packaging of Office and Teams since 2020, after receiving a grievance from Slack, a rival workspace communication application owned by Salesforce.
Teams was first introduced to Office 365 at no additional cost in 2017 and has since become well-liked, especially during the pandemic, due to its video conferencing features which took over from Skype for Business.
Critics claimed that packaging the products gave Microsoft an undue benefit. As a result, Microsoft began offering Office and Teams independently in the EU and Switzerland from August 31 the previous year.
As a reaction to client suggestions and to offer international corporations increased buying adaptability, Microsoft has chosen to expand the unbundling worldwide, as stated by a representative of the company.
Microsoft is implementing changes that include the global launch of new commercial versions of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 that do not contain Teams. Furthermore, a separate Teams package will be offered to Enterprise customers in regions excluding the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
Starting from April 1, clients have the option to either keep their present licensing agreements or transition to the new plans.
The price range for Office, excluding Teams, for fresh business clients will be from $7.75 to $54.75. On the other hand, Teams as a separate service will be charged at $5.25. The cost might fluctuate depending on the country and currency.
Microsoft's attempts to tackle antitrust issues might not be adequate to dodge potential accusations from the EU. Competitors are expressing criticism regarding the cost and compatibility of their messaging services with Office Web Applications.
Over the last ten years, Microsoft has been penalized with antitrust fines amounting to EUR 2.2 billion by the EU due to product bundling. If they are found to be in violation of antitrust laws again, they could be looking at penalties reaching up to 10% of their worldwide yearly earnings
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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