Microsoft dodges EU antitrust penalty by unbundling Teams from Office

Microsoft has avoided an EU fine after the European Commission accepted its commitments concerning the bundling of Microsoft Teams with Office 365 and Microsoft 365. This resolution follows a high-profile antitrust investigation triggered by Slack’s July 2020 complaint, which accused Microsoft of tying Teams to its Office suites through force-installation, preventing removal, and making costs less transparent for enterprise customers.

As part of the settlement, Microsoft will offer Office suites without Teams at a lower price, and enterprise customers with long-term licenses will be able to switch to these versions. The company also committed to enabling interoperability between its productivity tools and competing communication platforms, addressing regulators’ concerns about fair competition.

Microsoft will allow customers to move Teams data to rival services, with most commitments lasting seven years and interoperability and portability obligations extending to ten. The company had already unbundled Teams in Europe and later introduced it as a standalone app globally. The settlement is expected to be approved in the coming weeks and extended worldwide, giving more room for alternatives like Slack to compete directly with Teams.