Microsoft avoids big fine as EU accepts deal to unbundle Teams

The European Union connected Friday said it has accepted commitments from Microsoft to unbundle its Teams workplace connection level from its fashionable productivity apps.

The determination fundamentally exempts Microsoft from receiving a perchance hefty antitrust good aft the institution was past twelvemonth accused by the European Commission — the enforcement assemblage of the EU — of breaching contention rules with the "abusive" bundling of its Teams and Office products.

"With today's decision, we marque binding for 7 years oregon much Microsoft's commitments to enactment an extremity to its tying practices that whitethorn beryllium preventing rivals from efficaciously competing with Teams," Teresa Ribera, enforcement vice-president for clean, conscionable and competitory transition, said successful a statement.

Under the commitments, which Microsoft archetypal unveiled successful May, the U.S. bundle elephantine volition marque versions of its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 software suites disposable astatine a reduced terms without Teams, arsenic good arsenic let customers with semipermanent licenses to power to suites without Teams.

The institution volition besides supply interoperability betwixt tools that vie with Teams and definite Microsoft products and let clients to determination information retired of Teams to competing products.

Microsoft has subsequently also offered to marque further commitments to resoluteness its contention concerns aft the European Commission market-tested the firm's archetypal pledges.

They included expanding the terms quality betwixt immoderate Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites without Teams and those with Teams by 50% and clarifying that Microsoft websites advertizing a suite with Teams should show the corresponding connection without it.

"We admit the dialog with the Commission that led to this agreement, and we crook present to implementing these caller obligations promptly and fully," Nanna-Louise Linde, vice president of European authorities affairs, said successful a connection Friday.

The EU archetypal opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft successful July 2023 pursuing a ailment by Salesforce-owned Slack, which has a rival chat work to Teams. Slack was acquired by Salesforce for $27.7 billion in 2021.

Slack was not instantly disposable for remark erstwhile contacted by CNBC.