Microsoft has made significant changes to its product offerings, specifically regarding Microsoft Teams and the Office apps. As of April 1, 2024, these changes are now in effect globally. Let’s dive into the details:
Why is Microsoft selling Teams separately?
Microsoft is unbundling Teams from the rest of the Office apps worldwide. This move comes after an EU regulatory investigation that started in July of 2023. The European Commission had been looking into whether Microsoft was abusing its market dominance to suppress competition.
“By selling Microsoft Teams separately, Microsoft aims to address concerns raised during this investigation and provide more flexibility to multinational companies when standardizing their purchasing across different geographies.”
What does this mean for new business customers?
Starting now, new commercial customers can purchase Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 apps as separate products with separate price tags. Office will be priced between $7.75 and $54.75, depending on the specific plan. In addition, Teams will be available as a standalone product for an additional $5.251
“This change allows organizations to choose Teams independently of other Office apps, potentially saving money for those who only need specific tools.”
What about existing installations?
If you already have Microsoft Teams installed on your device, that installation remains unchanged.
“Existing Office/Microsoft 365 Enterprise customers who wish to continue using both the Office apps and Teams together can still subscribe to both at their current prices. However, new installations of Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows will include Teams by default.”
How does this impact other team communication apps?
The unbundling of Teams benefits other team communication apps like Slack and videoconferencing apps like Zoom. These competitors predate Teams but haven’t had the same established user base as the Office apps.
“With Teams now available separately, it levels the playing field for these alternatives”
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