The European Commission suspects that Microsoft is not treating Teams fairly. After investigations, the Commission suspects Redmond of deliberately closely linking Teams and Office.

The European Commission suspects Microsoft of competing unfairly with Teams. It notes that Microsoft is the dominant player worldwide with its SaaS productivity suite: Microsoft 365, or colloquially Office. Microsoft has been linking Teams with Office since at least 2019.

According to the committee, this has had a negative impact on competition in the market for communication and collaboration tools. On the other hand, the connection has strengthened the position of Microsoft 365. The EU sees this as an undue sales advantage, where customers are not given the choice whether they want Teams when signing up for Microsoft 365.

Decoupling is not enough

The EU has been investigating this connection for some time. In response, Microsoft separated Teams from the Microsoft 365 offering. This was done first in the EU, later worldwide. However, the Commission is not impressed and considers this adjustment to be insufficient. To restore competition, further adjustments from Microsoft are required.

After all, it’s about more than just the connection. The European Commission finds that the interoperability between Teams and Office is much better than between Office and Teams alternatives. This prevents Microsoft’s competitors from competing effectively, putting users in the EU at a disadvantage.

The European Commission expressed its concerns in a statement. This way, Microsoft also knows where it is located. However, the investigation is still ongoing. This investigation has been ongoing since 2020 after Slack filed a complaint.