Today, the European Commission launched a public consultation to solicit market feedback (“a market test”) on a set of commitments proposed by Microsoft to resolve the Commission’s investigation into the inclusion of Teams in Microsoft’s commercial productivity suites.
The proposed commitments are the result of constructive, good-faith discussions with the European Commission over several months. We believe that they represent a clear and complete resolution to the concerns raised by our competitors and will provide European customers with more choices. We value the opportunity to engage constructively with the European Commission and take seriously any concerns they raise regarding our business practices. Throughout our 50-year history, we have learned the importance of listening, engaging, and responding to such concerns.
We understand that business customers expect modern work solutions with advanced communication and collaboration. Microsoft aims to provide the best products and solutions to meet these expectations. That’s why, for more than a decade, we have developed these capabilities in our productivity suites, starting with Office Communicator in 2007 and evolving and innovating over the years through Lync, Skype for Business Online, and most recently Microsoft Teams. During the global pandemic that began in 2020, these communication and collaboration tools provided by Microsoft and others became essential for business continuity and remain popular for workplace innovation and communication.
The proposed commitments build on new options first introduced in 2023 by Microsoft. Those options enabled customers to purchase versions of Microsoft’s business and enterprise productivity suites without Teams. The proposed commitments require Microsoft to maintain availability of those suites in the European Economic Area (EEA) over the next seven years, and they set minimum price deltas that Microsoft must maintain between the versions of those suites without and with Teams.
The proposed commitments are appropriately focused on customers who purchase our suites in the EEA. What does that mean for our customers around the world? If the proposed commitments are accepted in a Commission decision, we have decided that we will, at the same time, align the options and pricing for our suites and Teams service globally, as we’ve done in the past. Globally consistent licensing helps ensure clarity for customers and streamlines decision making and negotiations. To this same end, although not addressed by the proposed commitments, we have decided that we will continue making all versions of our frontline suites without Teams available globally.
The proposed commitments also formalize and advance our dedication to interoperability, which has long been core to Microsoft’s approach and the suite’s value proposition. Microsoft 365 is more than a suite of applications and services—it is an adaptable, open development platform for custom productivity solutions. Today, there are over 7,000 apps available from independent developers in Microsoft AppSource, covering categories like productivity, project management, communication, HR, and IT to enhance productivity and streamline workflows for businesses of all sizes.
We are hopeful that following the market test, the European Commission will conclude that the proposed commitments resolve its concerns, and in the following months, adopt a final decision closing its investigation. If it does so, then Microsoft will implement the proposed commitments on the required timeline. Until then, we will continue to support customers in the EEA and around the world with our existing suite options, and customers may continue to renew and adjust existing subscriptions.
We recognize our responsibility as a global technology provider to follow and adapt to the laws and regulations in the countries where we do business. As we shared on April 30 in Brussels and in our accompanying digital commitments for Europe blog post, we respect the role that European laws play in regulating our products and services. This includes competition law, the Digital Markets Act, and other EU rules and regulations.