Microsoft is reportedly in talks to sign on Amazon as a customer for its 365 cloud productivity tools in a move that would turn bitter rivals into business partners. The deal is worth over $1 billion, with the e-commerce giant committing the amount for a period exceeding five years and aiming to secure more than one million Microsoft 365 license seats’ (the term used for individual users). These seats will be used by both Amazon corporate employees and workers in frontline roles.
Amazon reportedly plans to start using the new systems in early November, coinciding with the release of an upgraded version of Microsoft’s productivity suite that includes new AI capabilities. A complete transition of the company’s workforce to these tools is expected to be completed by early 2024, according to a source close to the situation. Bringing on a deal of this magnitude necessitates significant planning and the allocation of resources, and groups within Microsoft’s Office and security organizations have already started to ramp up their operations in anticipation, the source added.
A Microsoft spokesman did not comment on the report. The company is a major competitor of Amazon in cloud computing and has been gaining ground against its rivals in recent years. In particular, the new AI-powered features of Microsoft 365 have been a significant factor in its rise.
Despite their fierce competition in the IT industry, the two companies have avoided mainly working together on anything beyond business-related projects and a handful of joint ventures, particularly in cloud computing. In addition, Amazon has tended to rely on in-house tools for file collaboration and online meetings, such as its WorkDocs platform and Chime service.
Microsoft’s 365 cloud productivity suite offers business software that includes applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook, cloud-based file storage and sharing, and features such as video calling and instant messaging. The service also includes artificial intelligence-powered features that help employees find relevant documents, content, and people to work with based on their activities.
The new generative AI tools, known as Copilot and Security Copilot, are designed to help with collaboration and security by analyzing how users use these tools and identifying suspicious activity. The tool will then alert the appropriate parties to the issue and take steps to protect the user’s information. These tools are meant to prevent phishing attacks and malware infections, among other things. A separate feature called Suspicious Email Reporting allows users to submit potentially malicious emails that they receive to the National Cyber Security Centre in the United Kingdom for further analysis. As a result of these features, the productivity suite has also been effective in protecting customers from cybersecurity threats.