Microsoft has announced that it will sell its popular chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally, six months after it had unbundled the two products in Europe to avert a potential EU antitrust fine.
Addressing Antitrust Scrutiny and Rivals’ Complaints
The move comes as Microsoft faces an ongoing European Commission investigation into its tying of Office and Teams since 2020, following a complaint by Salesforce-owned rival messaging app Slack. Competitors had argued that packaging the products together gave Microsoft an unfair advantage.
New Pricing and Purchasing Options
Starting April 1, Microsoft will introduce a new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that do not include Teams in regions outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Additionally, a new standalone Teams offering for Enterprise customers in those regions will be available. Prices for Office without Teams range from $7.75 to $54.75, while Teams Standalone will cost $5.25, though pricing may vary by country and currency.
Microsoft’s decision to separate Teams and Office globally aims to provide multinational companies with more flexibility in standardizing their purchasing across geographies and address feedback from the European Commission. However, sources suggest that the unbundling may not be enough to stave off potential EU antitrust charges and fines.
