Beginning October 1, 2023, Microsoft will unbundle Teams from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites in the EEA and Switzerland.
In July, the European Commission announced, the commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Microsoft may have breached EU competition rules by bundling Microsoft Teams with Microsoft 365 and Office 365 for business customers. In response, Microsoft has announced, they will make changes to the licensing and availability of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland that will become effective October 1, 2023.
Changes to Enterprise Suites:
With the introduction of the new commercial lineup, the sale of current Enterprise suites that include Teams to net new subscribers will end. As a result, Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, Microsoft 365 E3, and Microsoft 365 E5 suites with Teams will no longer be available to net new subscribers in the EEA and Switzerland.
Here are how customers may be impacted:
- Customers who are currently subscribed to any of the suites involved will have new options. They can continue to use, renew, and add seats to their current plans as usual. Or, if they wish to switch to the new lineup, they can do so on their contract anniversary or renewal.
- Net new subscribers to Office/Microsoft 365 Enterprise suites who wish to provide their end users with Teams will need to purchase two SKUs: one EEA-specific Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite and Microsoft Teams EEA.
|
Subscriptions before September 30, 2023 |
Subscriptions after October 1, 2023 |
||
|
Office 365 E1 |
€ 9,40 |
Office 365 E1 EEA |
€ 7,40 |
|
Office 365 E3 |
€ 25,10 |
Office 365 E3 EEA |
€ 23,10 |
|
Office 365 E5 |
€ 10,50 |
Office 365 E5 EEA |
€ 39,50 |
|
Microsoft 365 E3 |
€ 37,70 |
Microsoft 365 E3 EEA |
€ 35,70 |
|
Microsoft 365 E5 |
€ 59,70 |
Microsoft 365 E5 EEA |
€ 57,70 |
|
Teams EEA |
€ 5,00 |
||
All pricing above is ERP pricing (Estimated Resell Price). This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency. As Microsoft partner, you may choose to decide other pricing. Many partners offer custom pricing with own services and support packages included.
Changes to Frontline Suites:
Current Frontline suites will coexist with the new lineup. Customers in the EEA and Switzerland will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3 suites with Teams included, or the new EEA-specific versions of those suites without Teams.
|
Subscriptions with Teams |
Subscriptions without Teams |
||
|
Microsoft 365 F1 |
€ 2,10 |
Microsoft 365 F1 EEA |
€ 1,60 |
|
Office 365 F3 |
€ 3,70 |
Office 365 F3 EEA |
€ 3,20 |
|
Microsoft 365 F3 |
€ 7,50 |
Microsoft 365 F3 EEA |
€ 7,00 |
All pricing above is ERP pricing (Estimated Resell Price). This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency. As Microsoft partner, you may choose to decide other pricing. Many partners offer custom pricing with own services and support packages included.
Changes to Microsoft 365 Business Suites:
Microsoft 365 Business suites will coexist with the new lineup. Customers in the EEA and Switzerland will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium suites with Teams or the new EEA-specific versions of those suites without Teams.
|
Subscriptions with Teams |
Subscriptions without Teams |
||
|
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
€ 5,60 |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic EEA |
€ 4,60 |
|
Business Standard |
€ 11,70 |
Business Standard EEA |
€ 9,70 |
|
Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
€ 20,60 |
Microsoft 365 Business Premium EEA |
€ 18,60 |
All pricing above is ERP pricing (Estimated Resell Price). This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency. As Microsoft partner, you may choose to decide other pricing. Many partners offer custom pricing with own services and support packages included.
FAQ
Why is Microsoft making this change?
In July 2023, the European Commission announced that it had opened a formal investigation regarding Microsoft’s bundling of Microsoft Teams with Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites for business customers. Microsoft responded at the time “we will continue to cooperate with the Commission and remain committed to finding solutions that will address its concerns.”
Microsoft are making these proactive changes to address these concerns in a meaningful way, even while the European Commission’s investigation continues. They are designed to address two concerns that are central to the Commission’s investigation: (1) that customers should be able to choose a business suite without Teams at a price less than those with Teams included; and (2) that Microsoft should do more to make interoperability easier between rival communication and collaboration solutions and Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites.
For additional context please read the official announcement on the EU Policy Blog
How will these changes affect existing customers?
Existing EEA and Switzerland based customers may continue to use suites to which they have already subscribed without any impact. Customers who currently subscribe to existing Office 365 E1/E3/E5 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5 suites with Teams can continue to use and renew those suites, as well as adding or removing seats at Anniversary and Renewal. Existing customers who wish to switch to the new EEA (no Teams) suites may also do that at Anniversary or Renewal.
Will this raise prices for new customers?
Microsoft are removing Teams from the suites in response to concerns raised with the European Commission. As part of addressing these concerns, the combined list price for an Enterprise suite plus Teams will be higher than the list price of the equivalent existing suite with Teams included.
Will legacy CSP customers who get automatically migrated beginning January 1st, 2024 maintain their existing suites with Teams?
Yes.
Will there be any changes to EDU suites?
No. The changes announced on August 31 apply only to commercial SKUs (Enterprise, Business, and Frontline). Academic suites are not currently impacted.
Will there be any changes to non-profit suites?
No. The changes announced on August 31 apply only to commercial SKUs (Enterprise, Business, and Frontline). Nonprofit suites are not currently impacted.
If an existing customer wants to upgrade – for example, from Office 365 E3 to Microsoft 365 E3 – do they have to move to the versions without Teams?
Generally, the following upgrade paths will be available:
- Customers using existing Office E1, E3, E5 and Microsoft 365 E3, E5 SKUs (with Teams) can upgrade to higher versions of those existing SKUs (with Teams).
- Customers using new EEA E1, E3, and E5 SKUs (without Teams) can upgrade to higher versions of the new EEA (no Teams) SKUs using new EEA (no Teams)
If an existing customer wants to change their partner of record after October 1st, will the customer need to create a new subscription with the new partner?
Yes. Microsoft are still in the process of determining the best approach to managing this currently unsupported scenario, while limiting disruption for our customers. At this time, if a customer switches partners, they would need to create a new subscription with their new partner. For example, if an existing Enterprise customer is considering switching partners on October 15th, they would have to purchase the Microsoft 365 E3 EEA (no Teams) suite and EEA Teams standalone (if desired).
If an existing customer wants to change their partner of record after October 1st, will the customer need to create a new subscription with the new partner?
Microsoft are still in the process of determining the best approach to managing this currently unsupported scenarios, while limiting disruption for our customers. If a partner decides to change their indirect provider relationship and work with a different indirect provider after October 1st, the customer would have to create a new subscription and choose from the current offerings available in that channel at the time of their transaction.
If an existing customer with Microsoft 365 E SKU in the EEA or Switzerland wishes to switch the channel through which they purchase (from EA to CSP or from CSP to EA) after October 1st , can they keep their existing subscription?
No, the customer will have to choose from the offerings available in that channel at the time of their transaction. We are still in the process of determining the best approach to managing some currently unsupported scenarios, while limiting disruption for our customers.
If an existing customer wishes to change the billing frequency for their existing Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscription, would they need to create a new EEA w/o Teams subscription?
No. The customer can change the billing frequency (i.e. monthly to annual billing frequency) within an existing subscription commitment.
A change in overall subscription commitment (monthly commitment to annual commitment) would require the customer to move to a new w/o Teams subscription.
What impact will these changes have on licensing requirements for Microsoft 365 Copilot?
None. Microsoft 365 E3/E5 EEA (no Teams) will be in scope for Semantic Index for Copilot and eligible for the M365 Copilot add-on. Customers do not have to buy Microsoft Teams EEA to be eligible to purchase Copilot. However, in order to use certain Copilot features and workloads, customers will need to ensure they have Teams either as part of a suite or as a standalone.
Can customers outside the EEA and Switzerland purchase the new EEA (no Teams) suites and/or Microsoft Teams EEA?
The new EEA suites and Teams standalone are intended for purchase by customers with enrollments in EEA countries and Switzerland, from EEA/Switzerland pricelists, for deployment on EEA/Switzerland tenants out of datacenters in the EEA and Switzerland.
Can multinational organizations with a presence in Europe purchase the EEA (no Teams) suites?
Multinational organizations with enrollments inside the EEA/Switzerland will be able to purchase the new EEA SKUs.
If other multinational organizations wish to purchase the EEA (No Teams) suites, they are able to set up an EEA/Switzerland enrollment with an EEA/Switzerland billing address to acquire these suites. These seats are intended for purchase by customers with enrollments in the EEA countries and Switzerland, from those applicable pricelists, for deployment on EEA/Switzerland tenants out of datacenters in the EEA and Switzerland.
If a customer is located in the EEA or Switzerland but has employees worldwide, can they purchase the new EEA (no Teams) SKUs for all their employees, or only those in the EEA?
EEA (no Teams) suites are available for deployment on EEA/Switzerland tenants out of datacenters in the EEA/Switzerland. Employees worldwide can access them remotely from these datacenters.
How is Microsoft Teams EEA different from Microsoft Teams Essentials?
Microsoft Teams EEA is an Enterprise offering available to customers in the EEA and Switzerland that provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration without any limitation on seat numbers.
Microsoft Teams Essentials remains unchanged; it provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration for customers with fewer than 300 users.
Available Microsoft resources:
- PPT: Customer Pitch Deck
- Email: To New Customer Email Template
- Email: To Existing Customer Email Template
- Microsoft Blog: Microsoft announces changes to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 to address European competition concerns
- Microsoft Licensing: New subscription structure for Microsoft 365 in Europe
If you have any question, please contact your TD SYNNEX team.