admin In a strategic move to address antitrust concerns and to have clarity for customers, Microsoft has globally separated its team’s business messaging and video app from its Office software suite. This resolution follows after a previous separation of the two products in Europe last year, which was triggered by concerns for possible fines from competition authorities and ongoing investigation by the European Commission. This investigation was initiated after a complaint from the rival company Slack in 2020.
The separation of Teams from Office will help Microsoft handle regulatory concerns and keep the business compliant with antitrust laws, which is a significant step for the business. By providing Teams as a standalone product, Microsoft is giving customers the choice to opt for a product that supports standardization of their software across geographical areas, which is critical for multinational companies.
Microsoft is apparently making Teams independent of Office as a countermeasure to previous antitrust cases, mainly in Europe. Throughout the past 10 years, Microsoft incurred €2.2 billion in fines for the anti-competitive practice of bundling or tying multiple products into a single package. With the risk of receiving a penalty of up to 10% of the world annual turnover if found guilty of antitrust breaches, Microsoft is taking preventive steps in order to avoid regulatory risks and obey the competition laws.
Besides, the separation of Teams from the Office suite is a sign of wider trend of increased regulatory control that the tech platforms are facing, not only in the EU but globally. In 1998, the US Department of Justice accused Microsoft that had been using the Windows platform to crush competition from other web browsers. However, Microsoft now is more lenient than before in allowing software installation on the product of computer manufacturers. Regulatory oversight, therefore, is still the major issue for the company as it adapts to a complicated regulatory landscape.
Microsoft’s split of Teams from Office is a strategic response to antitrust concerns and regulatory distinctions that prove the achievement and engagement of the company towards compliance and customer-oriented innovations. To give the freedom to customers in terms of choice and licensing and manage the compliance issues and complexities of the environment, Microsoft is offering Teams as a standalone product. As technology continues to be reshaped, Microsoft continues to keep the focus on delivering valuable solutions that equip organizations with the necessary tools to achieve their goals of productivity and collaboration.
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