On Tuesday, Pentagon said that it canceled a disputed $10 billion cloud computing contract with Microsoft. Instead, it will pursue an agreement with both Amazon and Microsoft and maybe other cloud service providers. The Pentagon also states that with the shifting of technology environment, they realized that the JEDI Cloud deal no longer meets the requirements to fill the capability gaps of DoD.
Gotta assume there is enough evidence showing Trumps influence on this decision as the Pentagon cancels $10 billion JEDI cloud contract with Microsoft, opts to restart entire process. pic.twitter.com/KrVLLHF41d
— Skyler Irvine (@vanrenzler) July 7, 2021
Furthermore, the statement didn’t directly mention that the Pentagon met with prolonging legal difficulties by Amazon to the original $1 million deal awarded to Microsoft. On the other hand, Amazon argued that the Microsoft award spoiled by politics because of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s dislike toward Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder. Whereas Bezos resigned from his role as a CEO on Monday. He also owns the Washington Post, a newspaper that the former president usually criticized.
John Sherman, the chief information officer (CIO) of the Pentagon, told reporters on Tuesday that during the extended legal fight with Amazon, the landscape evolved with new likelihoods for extensive-scale cloud computing services. Therefore, they decided to make a fresh start and seek many other vendors.
Which Vendors are in the Race for the Contract?
According to Sherman, they will replace JEDI with a new program such as Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability. In addition, both Microsoft and Amazon will be awarded different parts of the business, but neither is guaranteed. Sherman further said that the three other major cloud service providers – IBM, Google, and Oracle – might qualify for the contract too.
Source: Web
In response to the Pentagon announcement, Microsoft stated that they understand the DoDs basis, and they also support them and would provide every military member who requires the mission-critical twenty-first-century technology, JEDI. On the other side, Amazon said that it agrees and understands the decision of the Department of Defense. However, it stated that the company reiterated its opinion that the 2019 deal award was not based on merit. Instead, it was the result of external influence that has no place in government winning.
Oracle declined to comment on the Pentagon decision on Tuesday. Whereas in separate statements, Google said it looked forward to discussing the matter with the Pentagon officials, IBM said it was assessing the new approach of the defense department. Furthermore, the JEDI project started with the $1 million contract award for Microsoft, intended as an initial move in a ten-year contract that might reach $10 billion in value.
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