A new report claims that Microsoft may decide to unbundle its Teams online conferencing tools from its major Office products. The report claims that the move was made to avoid a full investigation of the teams and the office by the EU on antitrust grounds.
The dispute first began in 2020, when rival online conferencing company Slack filed a formal complaint with the European Commission regulatory agency. Slack claimed that Microsoft’s decision to bundle its Teams product as part of the Microsoft 365 suite, which includes its Office apps, was a way to force Teams to be installed on PCs. Slack claimed the move was “illegal and anti-competitive”. In November 2022, it was reported that the European Union was going to launch a formal investigation into the matter.
Yours Financial Times (through Engadget) is reporting through unnamed sources that Microsoft has agreed to release Teams and sell it with or without Microsoft 365. However, the article states that discussions are still ongoing on how this will be done and no final solution has yet been agreed upon. .
While Microsoft did not confirm the report, it sent a statement to the Financial Times, saying in part that it would “continue to cooperate with the Commission in its investigation” and that the company was “open to practical solutions.” That allays his concerns.”
Source: Financial Times through Engadget
