Microsoft has announced the global separation of its Teams business messaging and video app from its Office suite of software. The decision comes after the firm previously split the products in Europe due to regulatory concerns.
Teams, which was integrated into Office in 2017, faced scrutiny from the European Commission following a complaint from competitor Slack in 2020. This move towards separation aims to provide clarity for customers and address feedback from regulatory bodies. A Microsoft spokesperson emphasized the intention to offer multinational companies greater flexibility in their purchasing decisions across different regions.
According to a blog post by Microsoft, the standalone version of Teams will be priced at $5.25 (£4.20) for new customers. However, it remains uncertain whether this decision will fully mitigate potential antitrust charges from the European Union (EU).
Microsoft’s history with antitrust issues includes substantial fines totaling billions of euros over the past decade. The company faces the possibility of further penalties, amounting to as much as 10% of its global annual turnover, if found guilty of antitrust violations.
This move echoes past legal battles, such as the US Justice Department’s lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998, which accused the company of leveraging its dominance in the Windows platform to suppress competition from rival web browsers. Since then, Microsoft has relaxed restrictions on software installations by computer manufacturers, leading to increased competition in the browser market.
Despite the separation of Teams from the Microsoft 365 and Office Suites in Europe, market data suggests minimal impact on user numbers. Sensor Tower reported little change in the size of Teams’ user base following the split, with Reuters estimating flat monthly active users for the Microsoft Teams mobile app in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter.
