A landmark deal could see Amazon becoming a customer of Microsoft 365 for a reported $1 billion, in a major move of potential armistice between the two major tech powers.

Insider first reported the matter, and viewed internal documents suggesting that Microsoft 365 tools will begin to be used across various levels of Amazon, from corporate to frontline, beginning in November.

Amazon has around a 1.5m strong workforce globally, and the deal is expected to cover five years and one million individual users.

The deal will coincide with the release of a new version of 365 which will include generative AI tools such as Microsoft Co-pilot.

The internal documents suggest that in preparation for the transition, Amazon has already started allocating cloud servers.

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Currently, Amazon has neglected so far to adopt Microsoft products, instead opting for their own versions of the Microsoft Office suite, and relying on in-house tools like WorkDocs and Chime, which are not as up-to-date as more modern applications like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace.

Keeping everything in house, however, has been one of Amazon’s hallmarks as it competes as a heavy-weight with major tech companies in the cloud market.

Amazon and Microsoft are at the forefront of cloud technology, cornering around 60-70% of the market between them.

The move to strike this billion-dollar deal is therefore unlike other partnerships we’ve yet to see, and is a major departure from Amazon’s typical business model.