Killinghall Parish Council, a local government body in North Yorkshire, England, has lodged a formal complaint with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding its experience with Microsoft Teams. The council alleges that Microsoft is imposing "avoidable financial burdens on small public bodies" through its software ecosystem.
The issue arose when the parish council purchased Microsoft Teams, an online communication platform, for its 10 members. According to the council, it was only after installation that they discovered each user required a Microsoft 365 license and a Microsoft email account for the software to function effectively. This stipulation resulted in an unexpected cost of £1,100 to provide the nine councillors and one clerk with the necessary Microsoft-hosted email accounts, at £120 per person.
The council asserts that this requirement was not clearly communicated at the time of purchase. Parish clerk Robert Bareham stated that the council's goal was to ensure all members had simultaneous access to the same documents. However, they found that Teams and SharePoint would only recognize emails originating from Microsoft's Outlook service.
"We could not justify the council spending that sort of money on something that only benefited the council," Bareham said, adding that the funds would instead be allocated to a needed renovation of a children's play area, estimated to cost around £100,000.
Bareham suggested that Microsoft should offer tiered pricing for public services, charities, and other organizations with limited budgets. He expressed skepticism about significant changes, given Microsoft's size.
The CMA is currently investigating Microsoft's business software ecosystem to determine if the technology firm is restricting choices for UK customers, including aspects related to its AI products like Co-Pilot. Killinghall Parish Council's submission is one of approximately 30 complaints the watchdog is considering.
In its submission to the CMA, the parish council detailed that the unplanned annual cost of £1,100 "directly impacted" its "ability to manage public funds responsibly." The council believes this situation highlights broader issues of reduced customer choice, a lack of transparency, and increased costs associated with Microsoft's ecosystem design.