On December 17, 2021, alfaview informally filed a complaint with the European Commission to have the bundeling of Microsoft Teams and the Office 365 suite, which we consider anticompetitive, reviewed. On July 20, 2023, the official step followed in the form of an extended complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft in order to remain closely involved in the proceedings as a formal complainant. As part of the proceedings formally opened on July 27, 2023, the Commission must now examine whether the integration of the Teams conferencing service into Microsoft’s Office 365 suite constitutes an antitrust violation in the sense of abusive tying. On 25 June 2024, the European Commission sends a Statement of Objections to Microsoft over possibly abusive tying practices regarding Teams.
Since 2017, the year after the release of alfaview, the Teams conferencing service has been included in all Microsoft Office 365 plans. We believe that the integration of Teams into the Office suite, which is omnipresent in the B2B market, eliminates any competition in the field of video conferencing and collaboration programs. Innovative and powerful products can no longer compete on the market because Microsoft has a dominant position in the area of PC operating systems as well as office applications.
In general, companies are free to tie products together within the scope of their distribution sovereignty. However, antitrust law restricts this freedom in the case of dominant providers if the tying restricts competition on the market for the tied product. Tying it with the other applications in the Microsoft Office 365 suite creates a multipolar distribution advantage and a sales head start for Microsoft Teams, as the service has gained the same reach as Office practically overnight – an advantage that competitors cannot catch up with by means of merit competition.
The market shows that companies are no longer willing to allocate budget for video conferencing software because Teams is already included in the Office suite they license – supposedly free of charge. Fact is: Companies, schools, and public institutions that have licensed the Microsoft 365 suite must pay for the high server costs of Teams as well – regardless of whether they want to use the software or not. Video conferencing services generate continuous user/load-based server costs. We consider it anticompetitive to pass on the high costs generated by Teams also to those users of the 365 suite who do not want to use the Teams conferencing tool.
With the integration of Teams into the Office 365 suite, any competition in the video conferencing and collaboration sector is eliminated. Other innovative and performant products can therefore only place themselves on the market with difficulty in the long term. Teams must therefore be decoupled from the Office 365 suite.
Teams as a product must be priced transparently along real costs. Cross-financing via other products (in this case from the MS product range) is anti-competitive under the competition rules of the European Union.
For fair competition, it is necessary that all competitors on the market are given the same technical opportunities to make their services interoperable with Office. Even with a further development of Microsoft Teams, market participants such as alfaview must have the same opportunities as collaboration providers so that they can be used by Office users.
Equivalent booking options with and without Teams need to be offered and advertised for all Office 365 product configurations and all business units. The fact that Teams is automatically included within Office packages puts market competitors such as alfaview at a disadvantage, as we have marketing and sales expenses to establish our software in the market. In contrast, Microsoft can make their product available to their existing customers without having to spend on marketing and sales.
In the light of the antitrust complaint against Microsoft at the EU Commission, bilateral talks were held on August 17, 2023 at Microsoft’s request. We gladly accepted the invitation to a meeting after the EU Commission had opened the formal proceedings. We discussed the contents of the complaint with Microsoft’s management and outlined our concerns.
Microsoft explained their strategic thinking on integrating Teams into Office 365 and justified the integration with the further development of Skype to Teams. In order to address our concerns in more detail and to find possible solutions, we agreed to further discuss the issue in more detail in additional video calls or face-to-face meetings.
After several rounds of discussions, both via video call and at a personal meeting at alfaview’s headquarters in Karlsruhe, it has become apparent that Microsoft has no serious interest in completely untying Teams from the 365 suite and pricing the product according to its actual costs. Such a measure would be necessary to enable democratic and fair competition in the European market. Therefore, alfaview officially ended discussions with Microsoft on March 1, 2024.
The video conferencing provider alfaview welcomes the European Commission’s formal notification to Microsoft of its antitrust objections regarding
Antitrust complaint by alfaview before the EU Commission regarding the bundling of Teams with Microsoft 365 The Karlsruhe-based
The provider of the video conferencing system alfaview welcomes the first steps by Microsoft to address competition concerns
The provider of the videoconferencing solution alfaview welcomes the European Commission’s decision today to open formal antitrust proceedings
May 16, 2025
In order to settle the ongoing antitrust proceedings triggered by complaints from alfaview and Slack, Microsoft has proposed to the EU Commission to offer its Office packages without Teams at a lower price than the versions with Teams. The Commission stated that it would first seek feedback from competitors and customers before deciding whether to accept the offer.
Reuters, in English: Microsoft makes Office-Teams offer to avert EU antitrust fine
European Commission, in English: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Microsoft over possible anticompetitive practices related to Teams
The Wall Street Journal, in English: EU Seeks Feedback on Microsoft’s Offer to End Teams Antitrust Investigation
February 2025
In response to complaints filed with the European Commission by alfaview and Slack, Microsoft has offered to significantly increase the price difference between Office packages with and without Teams in order to avoid impending antitrust penalties.
February 12, 2025
heise, in German: Microsoft Teams: Höherer Preis soll EU-Kartellstrafe abwenden | heise online
February 11, 2025
Computerwoche, in German: Microsoft will mehr Geld für Office mit Teams | Computerwoche
techmonitor, in English: Microsoft to restructure Office-Teams pricing to comply with EC regulations
winfuture, in German: Microsoft wird Office-Paket mit Teams spürbar teurer machen – WinFuture.de
February 10, 2025
Reuters, in English: Microsoft to adjust Office-Teams pricing in bid to avoid EU antitrust fine, sources say | Reuters
October 11, 2024
Competitors like alfaview criticize Microsoft for bundling Teams with Office 365 for free. Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfaview, emphasizes that this practice disadvantages smaller providers and calls for the decoupling of Teams and fair competitive conditions. In addition, Microsoft is accused of shifting data protection obligations onto schools in the education sector and setting tracking cookies without consent, which is particularly problematic in the case of minors.
Online Education, in English: Microsoft’s Teams Bundling: What EU’s Crackdown Means for Tech & Education
June 25, 2024
Microsoft is once again under scrutiny of the EU Commission for potential antitrust violations: Although Teams was partially decoupled from the Office and Microsoft 365 packages in the summer of 2023, the Commission continues to see an abuse of market power, as Microsoft Teams continues to be preferentially integrated and disadvantages competitors. Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfaview, welcomes the initiation of proceedings but criticizes that Microsoft’s minimal price reduction offers little incentive to switch to alternatives and thus fails to create a true level playing field.
Heise, in German: EU-Kommission: Microsoft verstößt mit Teams gegen Wettbewerbsvorschriften
The Guardian, in English: Microsoft faces huge antitrust fine over Teams app
Wired, in English: Microsoft Faces EU Charges Over ‘Abusive’ Bundling
Handelsblatt, in German: Microsoft droht hohe EU-Kartellstrafe wegen Teams
AP News, in English: Microsoft breached antitrust rules by bundling Teams with office software, European Union says
EU Commission, in English: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Microsoft over possibly abusive tying practices regarding Teams
March 2024
After fruitless talks with Microsoft, alfaview has declared that it will not engage in further direct negotiations, citing its antitrust complaints filed with the EU Commission against the mandatory integration of Teams with Office 365. alfaview criticizes that this practice eliminates competition, disadvantages European providers, and burdens customers with high server costs for a product that is often unused. Managing Director Niko Fostiropoulos calls for equivalent Office 365 options without Teams and also warns of new monopoly threats posed by the integration of AI services like ChatGPT into Microsoft products.
March 18, 2024
CloudComputing-Insider, in German: Alfaview spricht nicht mehr mit Microsoft
March 16, 2024
Legales, in Spanish: Competencia: una segunda denuncia ante la UE por Microsoft Teams
August 31, 2023
Microsoft plans to offer its software packages without Teams in the future. In addition, interoperability with software of Teams competitors is to be improved. Microsoft hopes this will allay the concerns of the European Commission. alfaview and Slack had filed complaints with the Commission regarding the anti-competitive integration of Teams into the Microsoft 365 packages.
Handelsblatt, in German: Microsoft löst auf EU-Druck Verzahnung von Teams und Office
Die Zeit, in German: Microsoft löst Teams aus Software-Paketen heraus
heise online, in German: EU-Kartellverfahren: Microsoft entbündelt Teams
Le monde informatique, in French: Microsoft arrache finalement Teams d’Office en Europe
Global Competition Review, in English: Microsoft unbundles Teams from Office amid EU scrutiny
August 23, 2023
DIE ZEIT traces the competitive conflict between Microsoft and alfaview. CEO Niko Fostiropoulos has filed a complaint with the EU Commission against the bundling of Teams with Office, prompting proceedings to be initiated. He demands real choice, cost transparency for Teams, and equal technical integration of alternative solutions. Microsoft is in direct talks with alfaview and has signaled that it will consider the concerns.
Die Zeit, in German: Niko gegen Goliath. Ein IT-Unternehmer aus Karlsruhe legt sich mit Microsoft an.
July 30, 2023
Mononews portrays Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfaview, who filed a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft, arguing that the bundling of Teams with Microsoft 365/Office gives the company an unfair advantage.
Mononews, in Greek: Νίκος Φωστηρόπουλος: Ο Έλληνας επιχειρηματίας που… τα έβαλε με την Microsoft
July 27, 2023
The EU Commission is investigating Microsoft for antitrust violations due to the bundling of Teams with Office. Following complaints from alfaview and Slack, Brussels is reviewing formal charges. Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfaview, welcomes the investigation and emphasizes that it is about protecting innovation.
Reuters, in English: Microsoft in EU antitrust crosshairs over Teams, Office tie-up
Wall Street Journal, in English: Microsoft Faces European Antitrust Investigation Over Bundling of Teams Software
The Guardian, in English: EU opens antitrust inquiry into Microsoft’s Teams software
July 20, 2023
The Karlsruhe-based alfaview video conferencing provider accuses Microsoft of exploiting its market power by bundling Teams in Microsoft 365 and failing to provide equivalent integration to alternative providers. It has therefore filed a complaint with the EU Commission. alfaview demands transparent, cost-based pricing for Teams, equal promotion of packages with and without Teams, and genuine interoperability with Office.
Reuters, in English: Exclusive: Microsoft hit with EU antitrust complaint by German rival
Heise online, in German: EU-Beschwerde über Microsoft Teams von deutschem Videokonferenzanbieter
For queries:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Höppner
Partner / Lawyer
Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP alfaviewcomplaint@hausfeld.com