Starting November 1, 2025, Microsoft will implement significant changes to its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 offerings. These changes are the result of a settlement with the European Commission, which has long been concerned about the bundling of Microsoft Teams with broader productivity software. The aim of these measures is to give organizations more freedom of choice, improve interoperability with other tools, and better comply with European competition rules.

Historical context

The current changes follow a long history of antitrust investigations. In 2020, a competitor filed a complaint with the European Commission, which led to an investigation into Microsoft. As a result, Microsoft decided to remove Microsoft Teams from its Enterprise Suites (Office 365 E1, E3, E5, and Microsoft 365 E3, E5) in October 2023 (EEA/Switzerland) and April 2024 (rest of the world). New customers could no longer purchase these suites with Teams and had to purchase Teams separately.

Now, several years later, a settlement has been reached between Microsoft and the European Commission. The result? The Enterprise Suites and Teams will be bundled again, but starting November 1, 2025, customers will have a choice: a suite with or without Teams.

What exactly is changing?

The most important change is that you'll soon be able to choose whether you want a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite with or without Teams. This provides more flexibility in package configuration, though it does come with a new pricing structure:

  • E3 and E5 suites with Teams cost at least €8 more per user per month than the same suites without Teams.

  • Business Standard and Premium: €3 difference.

  • Smaller packages such as Business Basic or F3: €1,50 and €1 respectively.

Teams also remains available as a standalone solution: Teams Essentials from €3 per user per month and Teams Enterprise from €8.

Additional context from Microsoft

  • Microsoft is lowering the price of Enterprise and Business suites without Teams and raising the price of Teams Enterprise standalone to implement the required pricing differences.

  • Microsoft is reintroducing Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites with Teams in the GA lifecycle, so all customers can purchase or switch to these subscriptions.

  • These changes will be included in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) price list as of November 1, 2025 (preview available from October 1, 2025).

In addition, Microsoft emphasizes interoperability and data portability:

  • New APIs and a free export tool for smaller organizations make it easier to export Teams data.

  • Third-party vendors can better connect their collaboration tools to Microsoft 365 through a central developer portal.

For customers in the European Economic Area (EEA), additional guarantees apply: multi-year contracts can be adjusted annually from a suite with Teams to a suite without Teams, while maintaining existing discounts.

What does this mean for your organization?

The changes offer more freedom of choice, but also make the landscape more complex. You'll soon only pay for Teams when you actually use it, which can lead to cost savings. At the same time, you'll need to reassess which license option best suits your organization. Improved export and integration capabilities also make it easier to use other collaboration tools alongside or instead of Teams.

This requires a reassessment of your current licenses, contracts, and collaboration strategy. It's likely that you'll need to recalculate which option is the most cost-efficient and future-proof in the coming months.

How do you prepare?

  • Map out how many employees actually use Teams and what this costs in relation to the new price differences.

  • Calculate different scenarios: continuing with Teams, switching to a suite without Teams, or a hybrid environment where Teams is used alongside other collaboration tools.

  • Review your contract strategy: it might be wise to wait until the annual renewal date to switch to another suite or license combination at a favorable time.

Closing note

These changes are clearly driven by European regulations and are encouraging organizations to rethink their digital workplace. Whether you benefit depends on your organization's reliance on Teams and the configuration of your licenses and collaboration environment.

Need help making the right choice?

These changes are significant and can impact both costs and flexibility. At BeSharp Experts, we offer independent advice to help you make the right decisions. Feel free to contact us for a no-obligation consultation about which option is best for your organization.