Microsoft dodges EU fine by unbundling Teams from Office

Microsoft has successfully avoided a fine from the European Union by modifying how it bundles its Teams and Office products. This development marks the conclusion of a lengthy antitrust investigation initiated by EU regulators in response to a complaint from Slack, which is now under Salesforce. The inquiry began in 2020, when Slack accused Microsoft of leveraging its market position by linking its video conferencing service, Teams, to its popular suite of productivity tools. In response to the ongoing scrutiny, Microsoft took steps to separate Teams from Office 365 within the EU. However, some critics argued that these adjustments were insufficient. In May, the tech giant, valued at $3.7 trillion, committed to several concessions, including maintaining the separation of Teams and Office for a period of seven years. Following a market assessment, Microsoft further pledged to enhance transparency regarding interoperability, enabling users to integrate its services with those offered by competing companies. These new commitments have assuaged the concerns of EU regulators, who announced on Friday that these measures contributed to restoring fair competition in the marketplace.