Microsoft will unbundle Office and Teams globally after years of criticism

Microsoft will introduce a new edition of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription service that excludes Teams, separating the suite after scrutiny from a European Union regulator and complaints from rival service Slack.

The move follows Microsoft’s agreement to sell Office 365 without Microsoft Teams within the EU and Switzerland last yr. The company introduced Teams as a free offering for Office 365 in 2017.

Many firms claimed that Microsoft gained an unfair advantage by combining the 2 offers. Slack, which is owned by Salesforce, called the move “illegal,” saying Microsoft forced customers to put in Teams through its market-dominant productivity suite and hid the true costs of the chat and video service.

IN statement to ReutersMicrosoft said the separation “also responds to comments from the European Commission by providing multinational companies with greater flexibility as they seek to standardize their purchases across geographies.”

Reuters reported that Microsoft will introduce a brand new Office 365 offering on Monday. Microsoft has not made this variation on the time of publication.