You might not need to be a Teams player anymore, if you choose not to, based on Microsoft’s (MSFT) offer to the European Commission to unbundle products like Word and Outlook from its Teams workplace collaboration app.
The software giant said Friday that — after a series of “constructive, good-faith discussions” with the executive arm of the European Union — customers could purchase the company’s productivity suites, like Office 365, without signing up for Teams. That option would then apply for customers globally, not just in the EU.
Microsoft emphasized the option of interoperability, the ability for consumers to move data to competitors’ products, and for different platforms to communicate effectively.
Microsoft views its offer as a “clear and complete resolution to the concerns raised by our competitors and will provide European customers with more choices,” said Nanna-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice-president of European government affairs, in a statement.
The Redmond, Washington-based company has an expensive history with EU regulators. Its operations on the continent have been under scrutiny since 1993, with an investigation into its licensing and royalties. In 2004, the EU imposed a €497-million penalty (approximately $700 million at the time), followed by a €899-million fine (approximately $1.36 billion) for non-compliance in 2008, which was reduced slightly in 2012.
Microsoft has had an easier ride in the U.S. since the antitrust cases here in the early 2000s.
Microsoft hasn’t been the EU’s only target in recent years. Hefty antitrust fines have been handed out to Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), and Intel (INTC) too.
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