Microsoft Teams: Higher price to avert EU antitrust fine
Microsoft is considering price adjustments for Office with Teams. With a higher price, the company could prevent the threat of an antitrust fine.
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The American software company Microsoft has proposed a price adjustment for Teams and Office to the EU Commission. Specifically, the price range between the standalone Office package and the Office bundle with Teams is to be increased to avert a possible antitrust fine from the EU. This was reported by the Reuters news service, citing three sources familiar with the situation. It is not yet clear what exactly the price changes will look like.
Price changes are intended to strengthen competition
According to the sources, the EU Commission has asked several companies for feedback by the end of the week. It will then consider whether to carry out a formal market test. If the price of the Office and Teams package increases, competitors could offer their software at competitive prices and encourage users to switch. Microsoft has also offered to improve the conditions for interoperability to strengthen competition, according to the Reuters sources.
In 2017, Microsoft bundled the Teams application with Office 365 at no extra charge. During the coronavirus pandemic, Teams became increasingly popular as a video conferencing tool and ultimately replaced Skype for Business. The provider of the collaboration tool Slack, which has since been acquired by Salesforce, complained to the EU Commission about this approach. It accused Microsoft of trying to exploit its dominant market position and eliminate competitors by integrating Teams into the Office package.
EU Commission not convinced so far
This was followed in 2023 by another complaint from Alfaview, a German provider of video conferencing software. After the EU Commission initiated antitrust proceedings against Microsoft, the company changed its sales strategy for Teams. The company sold the Office package without Teams for two euros less than the program package with the video conferencing application, and offered Teams as a standalone version for five euros. However, these changes did not dispel the concerns of the EU Commission.
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If the EU Commission rejects the offer and comes to the conclusion that Microsoft has violated European competition law, it can prohibit the conduct and impose a fine of up to 10 percent of annual worldwide turnover. If the Commission accepts the offer and refrains from taking further action, it would deploy staff and resources to its investigations against Apple and Google, according to one of the sources.
(sfe)
