Microsoft Teams

06.09.25. Microsoft to cut Teams from Office 365 to avoid EU sanctions



Microsoft has decided to spin off the corporate messenger Teams from the Office 365 suite to avoid an EU fine of 10% of its global annual turnover. In addition, prices for Teams plans without video conferencing will be reduced and compatibility with competing software will be improved. The antitrust investigation against Microsoft began after a complaint from Teams competitor Slack in July 2020. The European Commission then pointed out that the integration of Microsoft's IT platforms creates an unfair advantage over other market players. In 2024, the European Commission accused Microsoft of violating antitrust laws due to the fact that the IT company sold the Teams messenger in Office 365 and Microsoft 365 packages for several years.


2017. Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for Business



Microsoft announced that its new groupchat Teams will become its core communications platform for users running Office 365. Until now, Skype for Business was the company’s product for this. According to Ron Markezich, the company’s corporate VP for Office 365, Teams will become the “hero and primary experience for all voice, video and meetings.” Over time, Teams will replace the current Skype for Business client. Microsoft obviously knows that enterprises don’t move fast, so for those who don’t want to do away with their existing PBX systems and calling capabilities to the cloud, it’ll launch a new version of the Skype for Business server in 2018. For those who do make the transition to Teams, Microsoft promises lots of new calling features and meeting enhancements with outbound and inbound calls to and from regular phones, support for voicemail, call holding, call transfers and other standard telephony features.