In October, Microsoft separated Teams from its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites in the European Union and Switzerland to avoid potential fines. Now the company is expanding this offering, selling Microsoft Teams globally separately from Microsoft 365 and Office 365, Reuters Report. “Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission and provides multinational companies with greater flexibility when they want to standardize sourcing across regions,” a Microsoft spokesperson told the publication.
Current users now have the option to keep the current offer or switch to one of the individual products, which is especially useful for anyone who uses the Office suite but prefers other communications services like Zoom or Google Meet. Business customers who are new to Microsoft products can purchase Teams separately for $5.25, while Office sans Teams costs $7.75 to $54.75.
Microsoft’s journey to spin off Teams and Office began in 2020 when Slack filed an antitrust complaint with the EU. The company, now owned by Salesforce, claims that incorporating Teams into the Office suite is illegal and that Microsoft is preventing customers from removing the chat platform. The European Commission has since been investigating the matter, and Microsoft announced in April 2023 that it would separate Teams from Microsoft 35 and Office 365. Although the move took effect last fall, Microsoft still faces the risk of a hefty EU fine if it is found to have violated antitrust laws.
