As of 1st November 2025, Microsoft will roll out a significant change to how Microsoft 365, Office, and Teams products are licensed across Europe. On 12 September 2025, Microsoft published its commitment to the European Commission, outlining how it would unbundle Teams from its productivity suites and offer more flexibility in licensing. Under the new arrangement, organisations in the EEA and Switzerland will be able to choose Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans with or without Teams and license Teams separately if desired.
In this blog, we break down what these changes will involve, why they were introduced, and what they mean for end customers and Microsoft partners — especially for UK organisations with European operations or clients in affected regions.
What’s Changed?
Microsoft now offers Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites with or without Teams in the EEA and Switzerland. In addition, standalone Teams licences are now available for both enterprise and small-to-medium business (SMB) customers. Microsoft is also working to improve how Teams integrates with third-party collaboration tools — a move that further supports openness and customer choice.
Pricing Difference
Pricing differences between Microsoft’s productivity suites with and without Teams:
Why This Change Came Into Place
Before this change, Teams was included in every bundle by default, meaning organisations had no choice but to have Teams even if they had already invested in alternative productivity software. Having Teams be included in the bundle raised concerns among regulators, in which they believed it gave Microsoft an unfair advantage over competitors. This issue raised awareness when Slack filed a formal complaint, claiming that Microsoft was “pushing Teams onto users by not allowing companies to use alternatives”. In response to this issue, Microsoft will now offer organisations the flexibility to exclude Teams from their productivity suite bundles. Microsoft taking this action allows companies to choose collaboration tools that are better tailored to their specific needs.
What Does This Mean for UK Businesses and End Customers?
Although the licensing changes do not currently apply within the UK, they are still highly relevant to many UK organisations.
For businesses with operations, subsidiaries, or users in the EEA or Switzerland, it’s essential to understand and comply with the new model. UK partners and resellers working with customers in those regions must also be prepared to advise on the licensing differences, pricing structures, and contract transitions.
Even for UK-only businesses, this move signals a wider trend in Microsoft’s licensing approach. The shift towards greater flexibility and pay-for-what-you-use models may well be adopted more broadly — possibly even in the UK in future. The direction of travel is clear: Microsoft is leaning into customer choice, and this change reinforces that philosophy.
For UK end customers, this change sets expectations — it’s a step towards more transparent, cost-efficient licensing. One that many UK organisations would likely welcome if replicated locally.
What This Means for Microsoft Partners
These licensing changes represent a strategic opportunity to deepen customer engagement and reinforce your value as a trusted advisor. With Teams now available as a standalone offering and decoupled from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites, partners can:
Guide customers through licensing transitions: Help customers understand the new structure, compare bundled vs. standalone options, and select the most cost-effective and compliant solution for their organisation.
Drive Microsoft Teams adoption: Position Teams Enterprise and Teams Essentials as standalone collaboration solutions, especially for customers who previously opted out due to bundled constraints. Upsell and cross-sell Microsoft Cloud services: Use this change as a gateway to introduce complementary Microsoft solutions such as Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Purview, enhancing the overall value of the Microsoft ecosystem.
Enable mid-contract flexibility: Assist customers in switching bundles mid-term while retaining discounts, creating opportunities for ongoing engagement and licensing optimisation.
This shift reinforces Microsoft’s commitment to customer choice and regulatory transparency, and empowers partners to deliver tailored, scalable solutions that align with modern workplace needs.
How We Can Help
If you want to take advantage of this change, or understand how this change may impact your customers, Infinigate Cloud are here to help. We have a range of professional services that can be utilised to review your customer’s license estate, end-user training options to help your customers make the most of Teams, and a team of Microsoft specialists ready to help you grow your Microsoft practice.
For more information, please reach out to our Microsoft Specialists directly at microsoft@infinigate.cloud.