communication service
Microsoft detaches teams from software packages
Microsoft makes a concession in the EU competition investigation into its office software business. photo
© Debarchan Chatterjee/ZUMA Wire/dpa
Is Microsoft gaining a competitive advantage by bundling teams with other software? Competitor Slack sees itself at a disadvantage, the EU Commission is examining. Now Microsoft is responding. Is that enough?
Since July, the EU Commission has been investigating in formal proceedings whether Microsoft is engaging in unfair competition by integrating teams into its platforms with other office software. The Brussels competition authorities were concerned that teams could be given an advantage over other services.
In the future, business customers in the European Economic Area and Switzerland will be able to get the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 software packages without teams for two euros less per month, according to a blog entry. Existing customers can choose to stay on their current contracts or switch to the cheaper non-Teams version. The interaction of Microsoft software with other communication services should also be improved.
Office communication software with chats as well as audio and video conferencing became more important with working from home during the pandemic. The trigger for the EU procedure was a complaint from competitor Slack in the summer of 2020. The service, which now belongs to the business software provider Salesforce, sees itself disadvantaged by the integration of teams in Office 365 and Microsoft 365.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Microsoft initially only offered to give up the automatic installation of teams for Office customers. However, Microsoft has only promised this for the EU, while the Brussels competition watchdogs have insisted on worldwide implementation, the newspaper wrote. The EU Commission only said in July that Microsoft had not received any proposal that would have dispelled the concerns.