Microsoft to Unbundle Teams Software in Europe

livemint.com:

Microsoft says it will change the way it sells its Teams videoconferencing service to business customers in Europe in a push to address concerns raised in a European Union antitrust investigation. The software giant said Thursday that it plans to offer business customers the chance to buy a lower-priced version of its productivity suites that doesn’t include the videoconferencing app. New customers would still have the option of purchasing Teams separately if they want the service.

“We believe this is a constructive step that can start to lead to immediate and meaningful changes in the market," said Nanna-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice president for European government affairs. Microsoft made the announcement in a blog post published Thursday morning. It said the changes would take effect at the beginning of October and apply in the European Economic Area, a group of European countries that excludes the U.K.

The changes will also apply in Switzerland. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, said Thursday that it had taken note of Microsoft’s announcement. A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the move would help to address officials’ concerns.

When it launched its investigation in July, the commission said it was concerned that Microsoft’s practice of bundling the Teams app with its productivity software could amount to an abuse of the company’s dominant position. The commission also alleged that Microsoft might have limited interoperability between its productivity suites—which include Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint—and other products that compete with Teams. The investigation, which is ongoing, is the first formal EU probe that Microsoft has faced in more than a decade.