Changes are Coming to Microsoft Teams
We have been notified of some changes coming in the way Microsoft supplies their Teams software program, which is currently part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs.
From later this year, you will have to purchase a Teams add on in addition to your other Microsoft 365 licenses.
Why is Microsoft unbundling Teams and Office?
In August 2023, Microsoft posted a blog about why the Teams and commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites would be decoupled in the EEA and Switzerland. According to the post, the European Commission asked the company to decouple the products in order to address two concerns:
- That customers should be able to choose a business suite without Teams at a price less than those with Teams included.
- That Microsoft should do more to make interoperability easier between Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites and their competitors.
The European Commission began investigating Teams in 2020 after competitor Slack, owned by Salesforce, filed an antitrust complaint. If Microsoft didn’t unbundle the products in the EEA, they could have faced a fine from the European Commission.
They are now extending this globally so all licenses are the same across the world.
What does it mean for us?
From 1st July, Office 365 / Microsoft 365 licenses that previously included Teams will no longer include Teams. From 1st July, you will need to buy a Teams add-on license to use Teams.
Please get in touch with your Account Manager to discuss whether you would like to continue using Teams after 1st July 2024.
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