Microsoft separates Groups and Workplace globally amid antitrust scrutiny

Microsoft will promote its chat and video app Groups individually from its Workplace product globally, the U.S. tech big stated on Monday, six months after it unbundled the 2 merchandise in Europe in a bid to avert a attainable EU antitrust advantageous.

The European Fee has been investigating Microsoft’s tying of Workplace and Groups since a 2020 grievance by Salesforce-owned competing workspace messaging app Slack.

Groups, which was added to Workplace 365 in 2017 totally free, subsequently changed Skype for Enterprise and have become well-liked in the course of the pandemic due partly to its video conferencing.

Rivals, nonetheless, stated packaging the merchandise collectively provides Microsoft an unfair benefit. The corporate began promoting the 2 merchandise individually within the EU and Switzerland on Aug. 31 final 12 months.

“To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated.

“Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardize their purchasing across geographies.”

Microsoft stated in a blogpost that it was introducing a brand new lineup of economic Microsoft 365 and Workplace 365 suites that don’t embrace Groups in areas exterior the EEA (European Financial Space) and Switzerland, and likewise a brand new standalone Groups providing for Enterprise clients in these areas.

Beginning April 1, clients can both proceed with their present licensing deal, renew, replace or swap to the brand new affords.

For brand new business clients, costs for Workplace with out Groups vary from $7.75 to $54.75 relying on the product whereas Groups Standalone will value $5.25. The figures might range by nation and forex. The corporate didn’t disclose costs for present packaged merchandise.

Microsoft’s unbundling might not be sufficient to stave off EU antitrust prices which is able to probably be despatched to the corporate within the coming months as rivals criticize the extent of the charges and the flexibility of their messaging providers to operate with Workplace Net Purposes in their very own providers, sources stated.

Microsoft, which has racked up 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in EU antitrust fines up to now decade for tying or bundling two or extra merchandise collectively, dangers a advantageous of as a lot as 10% of its international annual turnover if discovered responsible of antitrust breaches.