Microsoft to cease packaging Teams and Office software program in Europe to go off EU antitrust motion

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft will cease packaging its Teams videoconferencing app with its Office software program in Europe in an effort to go off antitrust penalties by regulators.

The tech big additionally mentioned Thursday that it will take steps to make it simpler for competing merchandise to work alongside its software program.

The announcement comes a month after the European Union’s govt Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s prime competitors enforcer, opened a proper investigation over issues that bundling Teams with Office provides the corporate an unfair edge over opponents.

The investigation was triggered by a grievance filed in 2020 by Slack Technologies, maker of well-liked office messaging software program.

Slack, owned by enterprise software program maker Salesforce, alleged that Microsoft was abusing its market dominance to get rid of competitors – in violation of EU legal guidelines – by illegally combining Teams with its Office suite, which incorporates Word, Excel and Outlook.

“Today we are announcing proactive changes that we hope will start to address these concerns in a meaningful way, even while the European Commission’s investigation continues and we cooperate with it,” Microsoft’s vp of European authorities affairs, Nanna-Louise Linde, mentioned in a weblog put up.

It’s not clear if the concessions might be sufficient to deal with the Commission’s issues.

“We take note of Microsoft’s announcement,” a Commission spokesperson mentioned. “We have no further comment to make.”

Linde mentioned the modifications have been made to deal with EU issues that clients ought to be capable of purchase Office with out Teams for a less expensive worth and “that we should do more to make interoperability easier” with rival communications and collaboration software program.

The modifications will take impact on Oct. 1 within the 30-nation European Economic Area and Switzerland. For its core enterprise clients, which symbolize most of its enterprise within the area, Microsoft, based mostly in Redmond, Washington, will minimize the value by 2 euros ($2.17) per 30 days for the Office bundle with out Teams. Existing clients can persist with their present plan or change to the model with out Teams.

New enterprise clients will be capable of purchase a separate standalone model of Teams for five euros a month.