Microsoft is set to introduce a new version of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription service that will not include Teams, in response to scrutiny from the European Union regulator and complaints from rival Slack.
This decision comes after Microsoft agreed to sell the Office 365 suite without Microsoft Teams in the EU and Switzerland last year. Teams was initially introduced as a complimentary offering to the Office 365 suite in 2017.
Many businesses have argued that Microsoft had an unfair advantage by bundling the two offerings together. Slack, which is owned by Salesforce, labeled the move as “illegal” and accused Microsoft of forcing Teams installation on customers through its dominant productivity suite, while also concealing the true cost of the chat and video service.
In a statement to Reuters, Microsoft mentioned that the unbundling would provide multinational companies with more flexibility in standardizing their purchasing across different geographies, addressing feedback from the European Commission.
According to Reuters, Microsoft is expected to launch the new Office 365 lineups on Monday, although the change had not yet been implemented at the time of publishing.
TechCrunch has reached out to Microsoft for further details. We will update the story as we receive more information.
