Microsoft separates Teams from Office, seeking to avoid EU antitrust fine

BRUSSELS, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Microsoft (MSFT.O) said on Thursday it would separate chat and video app Teams from its Office product and make it easier for rival products to work with its software, but rivals said it may need to do more to avoid a possible fine. Antitrust in the European Union.

The proposed changes came a month after the European Commission launched an investigation into Microsoft’s linking of Office and Teams, following a complaint from the rival Salesforce-owned (CRM.N) Slack workspace messaging app in 2020.

Microsoft’s moves announced Thursday were similar to initial franchises that failed to address regulatory concerns. The European Union’s competition authority said it had taken note of the company’s announcement and declined to comment further.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters last month that the commission could file formal charges against the company in the fall unless it strengthened its bid.

Teams was added to Office 365 in 2017 for free. It eventually replaced Skype for Business and gained popularity during the pandemic in part due to video conferencing.

“Today we’re announcing proactive changes that we hope will begin to address these concerns in a meaningful way, even as the European Commission continues its investigation and engagement with it,” Nana-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice president of European government, said in a statement. blog post.

She said the changes seek to address two EU concerns, “that customers should be able to choose a business suite without Teams at a lower price than one that includes Teams, and that we must do more to make interoperability easier between competing communication and collaboration solutions.” . Microsoft 365 Groups and Office 365″.

The changes, which take effect from October 1, will apply in the European Union and Switzerland.

Microsoft’s core enterprise customers, who account for most of the company’s business in Europe, will be allowed to switch to the version of Office that excludes Teams at €2 per month cheaper than Teams. New enterprise customers can purchase Teams independently and separately for €5 per month.

New support resources will be introduced to assist customers and ISVs who want to remove data from Teams and use it in another product.

Microsoft will also develop a new way to host Office web applications within competing applications and services, as it does with Teams.

Slack’s owner, Salesforce, said it had nothing to add.

Rivals say Microsoft’s bid in its current state is unlikely to win approval by the European Union’s antitrust watchdog.

“It’s rigged. I don’t think the Commission will appreciate it. There is nothing extra in the offer,” said an industry source.

The stakes are high for the US tech giant, which levied €2.2 billion ($2.40 billion) in EU antitrust fines in the past decade for linking or bundling two or more products together, but has since sought a more conciliatory approach with regulators.

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