This regulatory storm centres on the seamless integration of Microsoft's communication and collaboration tool, Teams, with its popular productivity applications housed within Office 365 and Microsoft 365.

In a sternly worded Statement of Objections, the European Commission—the EU's authoritative executive body—said that Microsoft's actions constitute a breach of EU antitrust rules.

The crux lies in Teams' tethering to the fabric of Office 365 and Microsoft 365, a move deemed detrimental to fair competition.

Should the Commission's preliminary view solidify into a formal finding, the consequences for Microsoft could be severe. The company may face a ban on such practices and a financial penalty of up to ten per cent of its global revenue.

Microsoft, anticipating the regulatory tempest, proactively disentangled Teams from Microsoft 365.

However, the Commission remains unswayed, deeming these changes "insufficient" to allay their concerns.

Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said he was hopeful Vole could address the additional concerns.

This saga traces back to July 2023 when the EU initiated an investigation into Microsoft, prompted by a complaint lodged by Salesforce-owned Slack—a formidable rival to Teams in the chat service arena.

The Commission's scrutiny zeroes in on Microsoft's strategic manoeuvring. Starting around 2019, the tech behemoth fused Teams with its Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, including the ubiquitous Office suite.

The concern lies in the asymmetry of choice: customers subscribing to SaaS productivity applications found themselves unwittingly acquiring Teams. This and interoperability limitations for Teams' competitors may have stifled innovation and disadvantaged European customers.