Microsoft has finally avoided a millionaire sanction of the European Commission in the antitrust case for the packaging of Teams with Office 365. It all began with the complaint that Slack presented in 2020, accusing the Company of Anticompetitive Practices for forcing the installation of Teams in Windows and preventing its uninstall, in addition to hiding its real cost for customers.
The formal investigation was opened in 2023 and, although Microsoft introduced partial changes in the way of distributing Teams in 2023 and 2024, the commission accused him in 2024 of violating community regulations. This is how, to avoid a fine of billions, Microsoft offered additional commitments that have been accepted.
For the next seven years Microsoft must offer Microsoft 365 and Office 365 versions in the EU without Teams at a lower Price than those that do include it. To meet the agreed, the company had to increase the price difference between packages with and without teams by 50%. Nor can it apply more advantageous discounts to packets with teams compared to those that exclude it. Finally, customers can change recurringly to editions without Teams and these will have to be available from data centers worldwide. In addition, on Microsoft’s websites, equivalent offers with and without teams should always be shown.
In the field of interoperability Microsoft will allow third parties to access the functions of their applications to integrate them into own products, as well as embed Word, Excel or PowerPoint in third -party services. Conversely, other services should be able to integrate into Microsoft applications. The commitment to facilitate the export of teams messaging data to competing applications, a key point for rivals such as Slack or Zoom is also included. The highlights of this section of the agreement is that Data interoperability and portability commitments will be in force for ten years. Microsoft must also publish in its developer portals all information related to interoperability and data portability.
The fulfillment of all these commitments will be supervised by an independent supervisor, a figure that will be responsible for monitoring the practical application of the measures and that may mediate in disputes with third parties. If disagreements persist, these will be resolved by rapid arbitration.
The Brussels decision is a relief for Microsoft, which thus avoids a new record fine in the EU, although the same could be said of the direct competitors of the software giant, since no fine that did not modify the situation would have facilitated what demanded what was demanded: A scenario of greater competition in the business collaboration segment. For companies such as Slack, Zoom or Cisco Webex, the resolution involves the possibility of competing in better conditions against Teams, which had won a dominant position thanks to its integration into Office.
«Large and small organizations in Europe and the world depend largely on videoconference, chat and collaboration tools, especially from the Pondemia of the Coronavirus. With today’s decision, we make binding for seven years or more Microsoft’s commitments to end their linking practices that could be preventing their competitors effectively competing with Teams. Therefore, today’s decision opens competition in this crucial market and guarantees that companies can freely choose the communication and collaboration product that best suits their needs, ”appointment of Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for the clean, fair and competitive transition that includes the official statement of the European Commission.
