Pentagon, the U.S Defence Department is terminating a contested $10 billion contract for cloud computing which was granted to Microsoft (MSFT) during the Donald Trump administration.
On Tuesday, the department made the announcement that it was terminating the Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure (JEDI) which was initially awarded to Microsoft. It will now replace the deal with an upgraded Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) Contract from Microsoft and Amazon, as well as any other capable contestant such as Google Cloud Compute.
The result of the JEDI contract would have brought about a cloud storage system built by Microsoft that will be used for sensitive military technology and data, department of defence artificial intelligence which can generate up to $10 billion revenue in 10 years.
In 2019, the JEDI contract caused some contesting and many experts in the industry foresaw Amazon as the candidate who was stronger and was fit to win the contract because Amazon’s web services is seen widely as the leader in the market when it comes to cloud computing industry.
A suit was filed by Amazon with the US court of Federal claims disputing the decision and saying it was brought about by the former president Donald Trump’s hatred for Jeff Bezos who was the then CEO of amazon and bezo’s Washington’s post.
The department in March 2020 wished to make a revaluation on its decision to give the contract to Microsoft. Plans to cancel it all together was reached by the defence department and is seeking a new upgraded contract from Amazon and Microsoft respectively.
The Department of Defence (DoD) decided to cancel the contract because requirements kept evolving and there was increase in the cloud conservancy and advance of the industry. The needs were no longer met by the JEDI.
The Department has now appealed for proposals from Microsoft and amazon respectively and other cloud service providers that can be able to meet the DOD’s requirement the department release said.
Microsoft in a blog on Tuesday said it understood the DoD’s view for cancelation of the contract and he defended his technology saying it suits the job the best.
“The post read that the decision of the DoD to forge ahead and secure mission critical technology is respected because security of the United states is of utmost importance.
Amazon Web Services in a statement added that the decision was okay and also pointed out areas of concerns surrounding the process with which the contract will be awarded.
The organisation spokesperson stated that the DoD’s decision was well understood and accepted as the award of the contract was not solely on merit of proposals, instead, it was influenced by outsiders who had no government procurement.
Part of the suit filed by Amazon with the US court of federal claims which contested the decision accused Donald Trump of launching attacks behind the scenes repeatedly in a formal protest which was against the company.
