For many people, it has been probably the most necessary apps of the lockdown and distant working world, however Microsoft Teams might be in scorching water following complaints from a few of its rivals.
The video conferencing instrument is going through an investigation from European Union antitrust regulators after a protest from Slack.
The online collaboration platform has complained that having the Microsoft Teams app so firmly built-in into the corporate's Office suite provides it an unfair benefit.
Teams dominance?
According to Reuters, the European Commission has despatched out a questionnaire to a number of Microsoft Teams rivals specializing in the interval overlaying 2016 to 2021.
The type covers a spread of areas, together with asking for an inventory of shoppers who've switched to Microsoft Teams or its bundled Office, in addition to how a lot the pandemic has boosted demand for distant working instruments resembling video conferencing.
Rivals can even be quizzed on any income losses seen for the reason that launch of Teams, in addition to any impact on analysis and improvement, and the way it has affected the standard and value of their merchandise.
It's not identified precisely which rivals are being consulted as a part of the analysis, however it ought to be anticipated that Slack is concerned, with different online collaboration giants resembling Zoom, Google Meet and Cisco WebEx additionally more likely to have been requested.
Slack says that the bundling of Microsoft Teams with Office provides the instrument a lift by suggesting it is the best option for customers. It additionally says that uninstalling Teams is unnecessarily complicated, and Microsoft was refusing to supply steering on how it would enable its service to work with rival platforms resembling Slack.
The firm has requested the EU to separate Teams and Office to verify rival companies resembling itself are given a good likelihood.
Microsoft Teams has grown quickly over the previous 18 months because of the enormous variety of employees compelled to earn a living from home in the course of the pandemic. The software program can be set to play a central function in Windows 11, the place it will be positioned entrance and centre within the taskbar, with Microsoft apparently seeking to make Teams 2.0 the one central communications hub for customers.
Via Reuters
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