In response to concerns from European regulators and complaints from competitors like Slack, Microsoft will offer its Teams video conferencing app separately from the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites in the European Union (EU) and Swiss markets. The move comes in response to the launch of a formal investigation by the European Commission last month.
Image source: Microsoft
Slack’s complaint was filed with the European Commission in July 2020. Slack claimed Microsoft illegally tied Teams to Office, automatically installed it for many users, blocked removal, and obscured the true cost to enterprise customers.
“We’re making changes that we hope will help resolve current issues.said Nanna-Louise Linde, vice president for European public policy at Microsoft. These changes affect business packages in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Starting October 1, EU enterprise customers can purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription without Teams at a reduced price, or buy Teams separately for €5 per month or €60 per year.
These changes only affect new customers. Current users can continue using their plans or choose a new non-Teams subscription. Microsoft will continue to offer Teams as part of small business packages. Additionally, Microsoft plans to improve technical documentation to enable Zoom and Slack developers to better integrate their products with Microsoft 365 and Office 365.
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