The European Commission has expressed concerns regarding Microsoft’s bundling of Teams with its widely used productivity applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, which are part of the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites aimed at business customers. In response, Microsoft has proposed a set of commitments to address these issues.
These commitments will be monitored by EU lawmakers for a duration of seven years, while those related to interoperability and data portability will extend for ten years. In an effort to comply with regulatory demands, Microsoft unbundled Teams from its Office suite in Europe in 2023 and later introduced Teams as a standalone application globally.
The significance of the decision is underscored by the increasing reliance on videoconferencing, messaging, and collaboration tools by organizations worldwide, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president at the European Commission, suggested that this move could enhance competition in the market, allowing businesses to select communication and collaboration tools that align with their needs.
The investigation into Microsoft’s practices first began in 2023, influenced by a complaint from Slack, which voiced concerns about Microsoft’s alleged anti-competitive behavior. Slack’s complaint claimed that Microsoft had “illegally tied” Teams to Office products, impeded its removal, and obscured the associated costs for enterprise customers. The unfolding scenario raises questions about the impact of such regulatory measures on market competition and consumer choice.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/776968/microsoft-teams-eu-commitments-avoid-fine