Microsoft announced that it is separating its online meeting application Teams from the Office package, to avoid investigations and accusations of monopoly.
Six months ago, the company sold the two software products separately in Europe after the European Commission opened an investigation into the relationship between Office and Teams, according to a complaint filed by Salesforce, which owns the work messaging app Slack.
Teams was added as a free app to Office 365 in 2017, replacing Skype for Business, and has grown in popularity during the pandemic thanks in part to its video conferencing capabilities.
However, rivals claim that bundling the apps together gives Microsoft an unfair advantage. Since October last year, the software giant has had to sell the two apps separately in the EU and Switzerland.
In 1998, the US Department of Justice also sued Microsoft for using the dominance of its Windows platform to block competition from rival web browsers. Eventually, the company was forced to loosen its control over what software computer manufacturers could install on their devices.
Analysts say that Microsoft's rival internet browsers have exploded in popularity since that move. However, Microsoft's separation of Teams from Office may not have the same impact.
“Enterprise products are a tough area. Teams is so tightly integrated into workflows that separating it from Office is unlikely to have much impact,” said Rishi Jaluria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Microsoft splits Teams retail app from Office suite amid antitrust pressure
According to Sensor Tower data, the size of the platform's user base will remain largely unchanged after Microsoft Teams is separated from Microsoft 365 and Office Suites in Europe in October 2023. The data shows that the number of monthly users of the Teams app in Q1 2024 will be relatively stable compared to Q4 2023, at 19 million.
Microsoft says the new Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites will not include Teams. Starting April 1, customers can continue with their current subscription, or renew, update, or switch to a new offering.
Office without Teams costs between $7.75 and $54.75, while the video conferencing app retails for $5.25. Prices may vary by country and currency.
Over the past decade, Microsoft has paid €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) in EU antitrust fines for bundling two or more products together. Under the Digital Markets Act, companies can be fined up to 10% of their global turnover if found in violation.
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