Microsoft splits Teams from Office app suite globally

Microsoft is to split its meeting and chat app Teams from its Office software globally after making a similar move in Europe last year.

The tech giant said it was expanding the approach worldwide to help “ensure clarity for customers”.

The decision to split Teams from Microsoft’s Office suite of apps in Europe last year came in response to an investigation from EU competition regulators after a complaint from workplace messaging rival Slack in 2020, who argued it was unfair that being able to bundle Teams within Microsoft Office gave it an unfair advantage.

Microsoft said the changes would not impact European customers already operating under the changes, which were first introduced in the European Economic Area and Switzerland in October last year.

At the time, Microsoft said it was making the changes to “address concerns that have been raised with the European Commission”.

A landmark competition lawsuit against Microsoft by the US Justice Department in 1998 saw the company loosen its control over what software could be installed on its products and has since led to a surge in the popularity of other internet web browsers.

Rival workplace messaging apps will be hoping to see a similar phenomenon occur in their area of the market following Microsoft’s decision to unbundle Teams from Office.

In a blog post on the move, the company confirmed that the new standalone Microsoft Teams for enterprise will cost 5.25 US dollars (£4.18).