Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), through its messaging platform Slack, has launched legal action against Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in London’s High Court, accusing the tech giant of anticompetitive conduct linked to its Teams software.
The claim, filed on April 23 by Slack Technologies LLC and associated entities, alleges that Microsoft restricted competition by integrating Teams with its broader software offerings. A Slack spokesperson said the case was brought “because Microsoft’s practices harmed competition, using tying and bundling of Teams to limit customer choice”.
Microsoft rejected the allegations, with a company spokesperson stating the case is without foundation.
“Slack’s lackluster growth, compared to Zoom and Teams, was based on inferior capabilities when COVID-19 hit in 2020, and had nothing to do with Microsoft,” the spokesperson added.
Slack previously raised similar concerns in 2020 with the European Commission, arguing that Microsoft unfairly bundled Teams with its Office suite to gain a competitive edge.
The U.S. group later avoided a potential fine by agreeing to offer Office products without Teams at reduced prices under a settlement reached with European regulators last year.
The latest lawsuit follows another legal development in the UK, where London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal recently approved a class action claim accusing Microsoft of overcharging British businesses for Windows Server software used on rival cloud platforms.
Microsoft has denied the claims in that case as well.