Thanks to a pledge to unbundle its corporate messaging app Teams from its productivity suites, Microsoft has slipped unscathed through a major antitrust investigation by the European Commission. The investigation could have resulted in massive fines for the tech giant.
The Commission has approved Microsoft’s concessions to address the EU’s competition concerns over the company including Teams along with the rest of its Office productivity suite for free. This concludes a multi-year investigation that was originally sparked by complaints from rival office messaging app Slack in 2020.
Microsoft has promised that for the next seven years, it will provide Microsoft 365 and Office 365 without Teams at a lower price. The company will let customers choose whether they want to pay more to add the collaboration app to the suites.
The Commission also secured an agreement from Microsoft to open up its APIs. This will enable interoperability for key features between its suite and third-party messaging and collaboration tools. Microsoft will also let those tools export their data out of Teams for the next five years.
In its investigation, the European authority accused Microsoft of breaching competition rules by bundling Teams with its productivity suites. It stated the company abused its dominant position and granted Teams an undue advantage. The Commission’s preliminary findings also noted that advantage was improved because Teams was integrated with other Microsoft 365 apps like Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and Word.
Microsoft attempted to allay those concerns by implementing a partial unbundling of Teams in April 2024. However, the Commission felt more extensive changes were needed. The company subsequently offered a revised plan in May 2025.
This approval is a win-win for both the EU and Microsoft, especially because there was no legal battle. The Commission can say it has secured a significant compromise from Big Tech. Microsoft is now voluntarily offering versions of its productivity suites without Teams at a price 50% lower than the versions that bundle the app, and this applies worldwide.
Microsoft also avoided punitive measures and a potentially enormous fine. The Commission’s penalties for breaching competition rules can reach up to 10% of annual global revenue. Considering the tech giant recorded $245 billion in revenue last year, the fine would have been a massive financial blow.
The Commission also noted that Slack and Alfaview, another company that had complained about Teams, have withdrawn their complaints following a market test earlier this year.
With this decision, Microsoft’s commitments to end its tying practices are made binding for seven years or more. These practices may have been preventing rivals from effectively competing with Teams. Today’s decision opens up competition in this crucial market and ensures that businesses can freely choose the communication and collaboration product that best suits their needs.