May 16 (UPI) — Microsoft said Thursday it is proposing a resolution to European Commission concerns over how it bundles Teams with MS Office and Office 365.
Microsoft said its proposed commitments to resolve issues with the Commission “require Microsoft to maintain availability of those suites in the European Economic Area over the next seven years, and they set minimum price deltas that Microsoft must maintain between the versions of those suites without and with Teams.”
“The proposed commitments are the result of constructive, good-faith discussions with the European Commission over several months. We believe that they represent a clear and complete resolution to the concerns raised by our competitors and will provide European customers with more choices.”
Microsoft said that if the Commission accepts their proposed commitments, “we have decided that we will, at the same time, align the options and pricing for our suites and Teams service globally, as we’ve done in the past.”
The commission launched a public consultation period Thursday on Microsoft’s offered commitments.
“Microsoft would make available versions of these suites without Teams and at a reduced price; allow customers to switch to suites without Teams, including in the framework of existing contracts; offer Teams’ competitors increased interoperability with other Microsoft products; and allow customers to move their data out of Teams to facilitate the use of competing solutions,” the commission said under the proposed commitments.
In a preliminary finding, the commission found Microsoft restricted competition in the European market by bundling Teams with other Microsoft software giving Teams a competitive advantage in distribution.
The commission said Microsoft’s proposed commitments include offering customers purchasing EEA versions of its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites without Teams to get a lower price than the one for corresponding suites that include Teams.
In addition, Microsoft would allow Team’s competitors and certain third parties to access effective interoperability with identified Microsoft products and services.
Customers would also be allowed to extract their Teams messaging data for use in competing platforms and to switch to software suites without Teams.
Microsoft’s blog statement said, “We are hopeful that following the market test, the European Commission will conclude that the proposed commitments resolve its concerns, and in the following months, adopt a final decision closing its investigation.”
