- Microsoft plans to introduce a new version of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription service without including Teams, responding to scrutiny from the European Union and complaints from rival Slack.
- This move follows Microsoft’s agreement to offer Office 365 without Teams in the EU and Switzerland, aiming to address concerns about unfair advantage and provide businesses with more flexibility in purchasing.
Microsoft will offer new Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions without Teams, following complaints and scrutiny. This move aims to address competition concerns and provide multinational companies with more purchasing flexibility.
Microsoft unbundles Office and Teams globally following years-long criticism
In response to mounting pressure from both European regulators and rival companies, Microsoft is set to shake up its subscription services by offering a new version of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 without including its popular Teams application.
This move comes after Microsoft faced accusations of unfair competition practices, with Slack, owned by Salesforce, going as far as labeling the bundling of Teams with its productivity suite as “illegal”.
The decision to unbundle Teams from Office 365 follows Microsoft’s agreement last year to sell Office 365 in the EU and Switzerland without the inclusion of Teams. Critics argue that Microsoft’s coupling of the two services gave it an unfair advantage in the market, potentially hindering competition and innovation. According to Slack, Microsoft’s actions not only forced the installation of Teams onto customers but also obscured the true cost of the service.
The defence from Microsoft
Microsoft, however, has defended its decision. In a statement to Reuters, Microsoft said the unbundling “also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardize their purchasing across geographies.”
While the unbundling of Teams from Office 365 is undoubtedly a significant development, it remains to be seen how this will impact Microsoft’s market dominance and its rivalry with Slack. With Microsoft set to introduce the new Office 365 lineups imminently, all eyes are on how this move will shape the future of collaboration software in the digital workplace.
