EC approves Microsoft’s commitments over Teams bundling concerns

The European Commission (EC) has agreed to commitments proposed by Microsoft to address antitrust concerns related to the integration of Teams with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites.

These measures will be legally binding under EU antitrust laws.

The commission’s investigation focused on Microsoft’s practice of bundling Teams with widely used productivity applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

This practice raised concerns about potential anticompetitive behaviour by limiting opportunities for rival communication and collaboration tools.

To resolve these issues, Microsoft will provide versions of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams at a reduced price. Customers, including those with long-term licenses, will have the option to switch to these new versions.

The company will also enhance interoperability between competing products and Microsoft services, alongside improving data portability from Teams to other platforms.

Additionally, Microsoft will modify its licensing and pricing structures in line with these commitments while ensuring customer needs are met. From 1 November 2025, customers can choose between product suites with or without Teams globally.

The EC’s investigation, launched in July 2023, preliminarily found concerns about Microsoft’s integration of Teams since April 2019.

This practice might breach Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union by restricting competition within the European Economic Area market for software-as-a-service productivity applications.

A market test conducted between May and June 2025 assessed Microsoft’s commitments. Based on the feedback, Microsoft agreed to increase the price difference between packages with and without Teams by 50% for certain business segments.

The tech giant also committed to prominently advertising both options.

EC clean, just, and competitive transition executive vice-president Teresa Ribera said: “Organisations big and small across Europe and around the world rely heavily on videoconferencing, chat and collaboration tools, especially since the coronavirus pandemic.

“With today’s decision, we make binding for seven years or more Microsoft’s commitments to put an end to its tying practices that may be preventing rivals from effectively competing with Teams.”

This agreement follows complaints from Slack Technologies and alfaview regarding Microsoft’s alleged competitive conduct. Both entities retracted their complaints following Microsoft’s proposed commitments.

Under EU antitrust regulations, companies can offer commitments during investigations to address concerns without concluding an infringement.

Noncompliance could lead to substantial fines or daily penalties based on global turnover.

“EC approves Microsoft’s commitments over Teams bundling concerns” was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.

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