Microsoft will soon be separating its Teams and Office 365 bundle globally amid ongoing antitrust investigations from the European Union.
The tech giant announced the unbundling on Monday to "ensure clarity for customers and streamline decision making and negotiations."
(Photo : Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Microsoft, customers currently subscribed to its Enterprise package can still use the old bundle until their subscription expires.
If they wish to renew, however, they will have to pay for Teams, Office 365, and Microsoft 365 separately.
The new packaging offers models after Microsoft's lineup in the EU bloc and Switzerland from the previous year.
Microsoft Prepares for Antitrust Case from EU
The EU first launched its investigation on Microsoft's product suite after the workspace messaging app Slack filed an anti-competition complaint against the tech giant.
Rival platforms have long griped about Microsoft's hold on workspace platforms, giving the company the monopoly on the prices of its services and its customers.
As of writing, there is no indication whether Microsoft's move will dissuade the EU from pushing its antitrust case against the tech giant following its new market rules.
Also Read: Microsoft's Teams Bundling Faces Antitrust Investigation in EU
EU's DMA Hits Big Techs for 'Gatekeeping' Practices
The crackdown on Microsoft's services marks the government bodies' efforts to curb the big techs' influence on the market since the dawn of the internet.
Microsoft, along with Google, Apple, and Amazon, has already been listed as "gatekeepers" in the EU's recently implemented Digital Markets Act.
This means that the companies will receive extra scrutiny from trading regulators in their business practices in Europe that may be considered to monopolize the market.
Microsoft has already racked up to $2.4 billion from antitrust fines in the EU in a bid from the bloc to diversify its market and promote more local businesses.
With the US also making big moves to regulate the tech giants, Microsoft is expected to make similar moves on its other services in the near future to avert further lawsuits.
Related Article: Big Tech Companies Accused of Ignoring New EU Rules
