The end of the Microsoft Teams + Office 365 bundle

by Meg Lanning | Apr 3, 2024

The enterprise chat and video conferencing solution Microsoft Teams will cease to be bundled with Microsoft Office. This uncoupling is a consequence of an antitrust probe in Europe. There, Teams and Office 365 have been offered separately since October of the previous year.

The division of the software is effective worldwide as of today. According to Reuters, Microsoft has adopted the arrangement crafted for Europe as the standard globally. “In order to provide transparency to our clients, we are implementing the measures we initiated last year to separate Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland for our customers around the world,” a representative explained to the press. Despite the continued global availability of the combined Teams and Office package, consumers now have the option to subscribe exclusively to Teams, select an Office bundle excluding Teams, or maintain their existing subscription.

European authorities challenging the bundling of products are not an unprecedented scenario for Microsoft, nor for other sizable technology firms. The scrutiny by the European Commission was preceded by a grievance from Slack, an office communication platform owned by Salesforce. Microsoft’s history of clashes with EU regulatory bodies dates back to 1998, concluding in 2004 with a 6-year Windows inquiry that resulted in a $613 million sanction.

Additional probes and ensuing penalties were enforced in 2008 and 2013, accumulating well over a billion dollars in penalties. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that Microsoft is taking proactive measures to avert another one. Some analysts speculate that even such proactive steps might not appease the European Commission. The update may present complications for enterprises that depend heavily on Teams for internal communication, or it may render competitors like Slack more compelling with more affordable Office offerings. However, the average domestic user is not expected to experience any notable impact.

The complimentary edition of Microsoft Teams, providing endless one-on-one video conversations and group assemblies for a duration of up to 60 minutes, will remain unaffected.