The Pentagon announced on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, that it would cancel its cloud computing deal with Microsoft. Which could eventually be worth $10 billion, and enter into deals with Microsoft and Amazon instead.
The Pentagon says it has ended a controversial cloud computing deal with Microsoft that could eventually cost $10 billion. This will be the place to find, bargain, Microsoft, Amazon, and any other cloud service providers.
“With the ever-changing technology environment,” the Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday. “
The statement did not directly record this in the face of Russia’s legal challenges. Starting with Amazon, and ending with the first $ 1 million contracts with Microsoft. Amazon said Microsoft’s pricing had been tainted by politics. Particularly by President Donald Trump’s antagonism toward Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Who stepped down as the company’s CEO on Monday. Bezos owns the Washington Post, which Trump has bashed on numerous occasions.
John Sherman, the Pentagon’s chief information officer, told reporters Tuesday during a long legal battle with Amazon that “picture” c was designed to enable the new capabilities of large-scale cloud computing services. So it was decided to start from scratch and look for further suppliers.
Sherman said that JEDI will be replacing with a new program called Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability. And that both Amazon and Microsoft will likely get a share of the business, though nothing is a guarantee. Three other large cloud service providers, according to Sherman, potentially qualify Google, IBM, cloud, and Oracle.
“We need to understand why the Department of Defense, and we support a member of the armed forces. Because the demands of the 21st century, among the business-critical technologies that JEDI to give you goes,” Microsoft notes in response to the Pentagon statement. The Department of Defense faces a difficult decision: continue the potentially protracted legal battle or find another way. “
Amazon’s Reaction Towards Pentagon Cloud Computing Deal
Amazon stated that it was aware of the Pentagon’s decision and agreed with it. In a statement, the company reiterated its opinion that awarding the contract for 2019 was not based on the viability of competing proposals.
In a separate statement, IBM said it appreciated the Pentagon’s new approach, and Google said it hoped to discuss it with Pentagon officials.
The JEDI project began with the awarding of a $1 million contract to Microsoft. Which is the first step in a 10-year contract that could reach $10 billion. Sherman said the deal’s specific value has not yet been determined. But it would be “in the billions.” Project replacement is a five-year initiative. The government will negotiate the amount Microsoft will pay to conclude the deal in 2019, according to Sherman.
Amazon Web Services, a leader in cloud computing services, has long been recognized as a prime candidate to manage the Pentagon’s joint defense infrastructure project known as JEDI. The project aims to store and process large amounts of classified data. Just to enable the US military to improve communications with soldiers on the battlefield. And also use artificial intelligence to speed up its military development and warfare capabilities.
The JEDI deal was legally challenged soon after being awarded the contract to Microsoft in October 2019. Amazon Web Services, the losing bidder, filed a lawsuit, alleging that the Pentagon’s process was defective and unjust, claiming that it has unfairly influenced by politics.
That year, the Pentagon hinted it might terminate the pentagon cloud deal and said in May it was forced to reconsider it. After a federal judge in April rejected the Pentagon’s move to ignore key parts of the Amazon case.
The JEDI story is unusual for the political dimension associate with Trump. In April 2020, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense determined that the negotiation process was in accordance with government procurement and legal standards. The Inspector General found no evidence of White House interference in the procurement process, but the review also found that investigators were unable to fully address the issue because the White House would not grant full access to witnesses.
Five months later, the Pentagon confirmed that Microsoft was the winner in the operation. But legal challenges to Amazon’s case dealt.
In its April 2020 report, the Office of the Inspector General did not specify whether Microsoft Corp is based in Redmond and is based in Washington. Declared the winner accordingly. Instead, it checks that the decision-making process is correct and legitimate. He also looked into charges of unethical activity on the part of Pentagon personnel involved in the case. And found that ethical lapses had no bearing on the conclusion.
The review found no evidence of White House pressure on the Pentagon backing Microsoft’s bid. But also said it did not determine the extent of the White House’s interactions with Pentagon decision-makers.
