The European Commission has begun a formal investigation to examine if Microsoft potentially violated EU competition rules by linking or bundling its communication and collaboration tool, Teams, with its widely used business suites, Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Microsoft is a global technology company that offers productivity and business software, cloud computing, and personal computing solutions. 'Microsoft Teams' is a cloud-based communication and collaboration tool offered by Microsoft. It allows users to do messaging, calling, video meetings, and file sharing. It also integrates Microsoft's and third-party workplace tools and other applications to streamline work processes.
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The coronavirus outbreak sped up the trend of remote working and businesses moving to the cloud for communication and collaboration needs. This shift to the cloud has allowed new companies and business models to emerge, offering customers the option to use various types of software from different providers without needing their own data centers. Cloud-based software, including the ones being looked into, is usually offered on a subscription basis.
Teams is a widely-used communication and collaboration tool offered by Microsoft and utilized by many businesses globally. Microsoft includes Teams along with other popular suites for businesses like Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The European Commission has expressed concerns that Microsoft might be giving Teams a distribution advantage by not allowing customers to choose whether they want access to Teams when subscribing to their productivity suites. The Commission is also looking into whether Microsoft limited the interoperability between their productivity suites and competing offerings. The Commission will conduct a detailed investigation of this matter as a top priority, and it's crucial to understand that the opening of the formal investigation does not determine its final result.
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