Beauty moves to the cloud: Estée Lauder entrusts Microsoft with data from 150 countries and 14,000 employees

Cosmetics giant The Estée Lauder Companies has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft. The Microsoft cloud will underpin a unified data platform connecting consumer and product data across all of the group's brands, from Clinique and M·A·C to La Mer and Tom Ford, in 150 countries. On that foundation the company wants to match shoppers with products and offers more precisely, embed AI into the chain from product idea to manufacturing, and automate routine office work. More than 14,000 employees already have access to Microsoft Copilot and are now experimenting with role-specific agents. For Estée Lauder the deal is part of its Beauty Reimagined strategy and is expected to help expand margins; for Microsoft it is another major customer from the world of luxury and retail, far from the tech industry.