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The European Commission has closed its antitrust case over the bundling of Teams with Office 365/Microsoft 365 after Microsoft made binding commitments. The core elements include that Microsoft will permanently offer its enterprise Office suites without Teams at reduced prices and will widen the price gap between suites with and without Teams by 50 percent. Customers on long-term licences will be allowed to switch to packages without Teams.
Beyond pricing, Microsoft committed to improved interoperability and data portability so competitors can integrate more seamlessly with Office services. Most commitments will remain in force for seven years, while the interoperability and portability obligations run for ten years; compliance will be overseen by an independent monitoring trustee. With the package accepted, the Commission ends a case that originated with complaints from Slack/Salesforce (later also alfaview), and Microsoft avoids a potential fine.
Brussels had judged earlier unbundling steps to be insufficient. With the new package, the Commission says its competition concerns are addressed; Microsoft announced swift implementation. On the commercial side, Microsoft will present equivalent offers with and without Teams in parallel on its website to improve customer choice.
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