EU decides on Teams bundling – alfaview welcomes EU commitments for Microsoft

(Karlsruhe, Germany) – The European Commission today made Microsoft's proposed commitments in the Teams I (AT.40721) and Teams II (AT.40873) proceedings binding. alfaview gmbh, the complainant in the proceedings, welcomes this outcome as a significant step toward greater freedom of choice and innovation in the market for collaboration and video conferencing solutions.

The proceedings were initiated due to the inclusion of Microsoft Teams in the Office suites. As the sole European complainant – with its own video conferencing solution in direct competition with Teams – alfaview contributed its technical expertise and market experience to the discussions with the Commission and Microsoft. In doing so, alfaview made a decisive contribution to a solution that creates more freedom of choice, innovation, and fair conditions for all market participants in Europe. To pave the way for this binding agreement, alfaview withdrew its complaint to the EU Commission a few weeks ago.

"We would like to express our sincere thanks to the EU Commission for its commitment to enforcing competition law in the European Union. We welcome the fact that Microsoft approached the Commission with constructive proposals to resolve the conflict and are pleased that alfaview was able to contribute to a solution through close dialogue with the EU Commission and numerous intensive discussions with Microsoft. This decision will strengthen Europe's digital competitiveness. At the same time, it sends an important signal for Europe's digital sovereignty: fair market conditions not only promote technological diversity, but also secure the long-term innovative strength of the European market." 

– Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfaview.

The most important commitments at a glance:

• Office without Teams: Microsoft will offer versions of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 in the European Economic Area without Teams, with price differences depending on the package. Discounts will apply equally to both versions in the future.
• Change options: Customers can switch easily from an Office version with Teams to a version without Teams at any time and use it worldwide.
• Interoperability and integration: Competitors will have access to Microsoft services and APIs to integrate their solutions into core applications such as Outlook, Calendar, or OneDrive. In addition, an SDK will be provided that allows Office web applications to be embedded in their own products.
• Data portability: EEA customers can export their Teams messaging data in full and reuse it in competing solutions.
• Duration and control: Office suites without Teams will have to be offered for seven years, interoperability and data portability commitments for ten years. An independent trustee monitors implementation.

 "Today's decision is a milestone in European competition law. It shows how fair competition can be ensured even in highly dynamic and technically complex markets through clear and practical rules. This makes it clear that European competition law is capable of responding effectively to new digital challenges. For alfaview, a change in practice was always more important than a fine." 

– Prof. Dr. Thomas Höppner, Legal Counsel at Alfaview, Partner at Geradin Partners 

alfaview is convinced that the new framework conditions will enable greater product diversity and sustainable innovation in Europe in the long term. Through its early and consistent involvement in the process, alfaview has contributed to implementing this solution together with all parties involved. This opens up new opportunities for the European video conferencing platform alfaview to position itself globally on the market and at the same time demonstrate that GDPR-compliant and secure communication based on fair competitive conditions is feasible.

- Picture is available at AP -