European officials are investigating Microsoft bundling of Teams with its Office 365 suite following a complaint by Slack in 2020, accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior.
The European Commission is concerned that this bundling strategy hinders customers from considering alternatives and restricts competition in the communication and collaboration products market.
“These practices may constitute anti-competitive tying or bundling and prevent suppliers of other communication and collaboration tools from competing.” Said the Commission’s spokesperson.
Microsoft expressed cooperation with the investigation and a commitment to addressing the concerns raised.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, “We respect the European Commission’s work on this case and take our own responsibilities very seriously. We will continue to cooperate with the Commission and remain committed to finding solutions that will address its concerns.”
Slack’s complaint accused Microsoft of forcing Teams onto customers and obscuring the true cost to enterprise clients. Slack argued that its platform provides more flexibility for customers to choose services as they prefer.
Teams, added to Office 365 in 2017, gained popularity, especially during the pandemic due to its video conferencing capabilities.
The European Commission aims to expedite the investigation and is poised to issue formal charges against Microsoft in the autumn unless corrective measures are taken.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager stressed the importance of a competitive market where businesses can freely choose collaboration tools.
The Commission also raised concerns about potential interoperability issues between Microsoft’s software and third-party products.
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The investigation reflects increased antitrust scrutiny on Microsoft, which faced significant fines for previous competition violations.
EU fines for antitrust violations can reach up to 10% of a company’s global turnover, making it vital for Microsoft to address the Commission’s concerns to avoid hefty penalties.
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