In Windows 11, the Teams tool is directly integrated into the operating system. Enough to overshadow competing solutions like Zoom, Slack or Meet. But according to Microsoft, this integration should not lead to legal issues, as the company has experienced in the past.
During his back-to-school conference 2021 in its Issean headquarters, Microsoft had the opportunity to speak on the upcoming release of Windows 11. Although the operating system was not the main subject of the event organized this Thursday, September 16, one spokespersons for the Redmond giant quickly returned to integrating Teams into Windows 11, integration which could be subject to controversy as soon as the new OS is released.
At first glance, this integration only has advantages, since the application is now an integral part of the OS. The discussion options are accessible directly from the taskbar and to quickly chat with your contacts, you don’t even need to launch the application anymore. A practical and fast function, what more could you ask for? On the other hand, publishers and users of alternative solutions risk seeing this “somewhat forced” integration with a very negative light.
Windows 11: Teams becomes ubiquitous
If the release date of Windows 11 is set for October 5, 2021, we can already get a serious idea of its novelties via the different builds that follow one another since June 2021. As long as we have a license Windows 10, the Windows Insider program allows you to preview Windows 11 for free. And among the many new features of the OS, we find in particular the integration of the Teams application, the use of which has experienced a phenomenal explosion during the various confinements for 2020-2021. So much so that Microsoft decided to make Teams a part of Windows 11.
But what could pose a problem is the almost monopolistic integration of Teams within Windows 11: the software is accessible directly in the taskbar and now acts as a classic messaging tool. And since the features of Teams go much further, since it is and above all also a videoconferencing application, there is something to cringe the editors of alternative solutions like Zoom or Meet.
Microsoft’s parade to avoid monopoly situations
A situation which is reminiscent of that experienced by Microsoft in the 2000s : at the time, it was criticized for taking advantage of the monopoly of Windows to impose its Internet Explorer browser on individuals and businesses. A few years later, it was the turn of Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center to be the target of the European Commission, which concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was violating European antitrust laws. This led to the release of “N” versions of Windows 7, then Windows 10.
In the case of Teams, however, that shouldn’t be a monopoly problem. At least that’s what Microsoft explains by simply arguing that ”there is no specific pricing”With Windows 11. It is therefore very likely that we find this extensive integration of Teams in all editions of Windows 11, even the“ N ”.
Is a lawsuit on the part of the EC or the editors of alternatives to Teams to be feared? Not necessarily. Microsoft has learned from its mistakes and is now covering its back, asking the user many questions during installation. This is the case with OneDrive, for example: the cloud storage and synchronization application is omnipresent in the OS, ultimately leaving little room for alternative solutions. But the user has the choice or not to use OneDrive when installing Windows 10. And that’s probably where everything will play out with Teams …