2023-08-31 12:42:54
Because of an impending fine from the European Union, Microsoft is terminating the integration of its Teams video conferencing program with the Office software. This step was intended to allay the concerns of the competition authorities, wrote Nanna-Louise Linde, the manager of the US software group responsible for cooperation with European governments, in a blog post on Thursday. In the future, customers could choose an Office version without teams that is cheaper than the one with teams. She also promised updates to Office to improve the integration of competing Teams products. The EU announced that it had taken note of the measures. She declined further comment on the subject.
The action was triggered by an official investigation by the EU competition authority of Microsoft into a possible impediment to competition. The investigations started with a complaint from the US company Salesforce, which has a team rival in its program, Slack. Insiders said in July that the originally offered price reduction for Office exclusive teams in the EU was not enough. Microsoft had to pay competition fines totaling 2.2 billion dollars in the EU in recent years because of the dovetailing of various products.
Teams was added to the Office suite in 2017 as a free feature. It superseded the previously popular Skype program, which also belonged to Microsoft. During the pandemic, video conferencing systems such as Teams or Zoom quickly gained popularity.
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According to Microsoft, existing business customers who decide against Teams will receive the Office package at a price reduction of 24 euros per year. New customers can book teams as a single application for 60 euros a year. The changes will come into effect on October 1st in the EU and Switzerland.
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