- Slack’s complaint about the equipment software group, since 2019, has finally been resolved
- Microsoft must increase the price gap, clarify prices and allow customers to degrade
- Interoperability with another M365 software and options to migrate to alternatives also covered
The European Commission has accepted Microsoft’s efforts to address competition competition concerns, derived from a loose complaint about the grouping of Microsoft equipment in its SAAS packaged from 2019.
The antitrust regulators discovered that Microsoft had a dominant position as a result of linking equipment to Office 365/Microsoft 365 suites, giving it an advantage over rivals, but the company has been working closely with the commission for several years to rectify this position.
Microsoft and the European Commission now agreed legally binding to resolve the complaint once and for all, and means that subscriptions should offer even more value to European clients.
The debate of the EU/the EU finally reaches a legally binding settlement
The previous efforts of Microsoft to sell some suites without equipment, although recognized, finally ended up being insufficient.
Now, Microsoft agreed to sell Office 365/Microsoft 365 without equipment at a small price, increasing the price difference between packages with and without equipment in an additional 50%. Parallel offers will also be clearly shown on Microsoft websites.
Customers with long -term licenses should also have permission to change licenses without equipment if they wish.
From a technical point of view, Microsoft will guarantee interoperability for team rivals with their office software, including Word and Excel. It will also allow them to incorporate Office web applications into their own tools, as well as the equipment they already offer today.
Companies that now seek to change the platform must have access to data portability tools to facilitate export.
“Therefore, today’s decision opens competition in this crucial market and guarantees that companies can freely choose the communication and collaboration product that best suits their needs,” said the EVP of clean, fair and competitive transition Teresa Ribera.
The Vice President of Microsoft for European government affairs, Nanna-Louise Linde, added: “We appreciate the dialogue with the commission that led to this agreement, and now we focus on implementing these new obligations quickly and completely.”
The efforts of European regulators are of great reach, and we can greatly thank Slack for their initial complaint, because the changes will not only affect European clients. Microsoft must apply these commitments worldwide, which must be in force for seven years. Interoperability and portability commitments will last a total of 10 years.
Microsoft’s breach will take Microsoft in many problems, up to 10% of its global billing in fines or daily penalty payments.
