The US Department of Defense has officially canceled a contract to provide cloud storage services. Microsoft had an agreement with the Department and it won. The company was made official as the winner of the $10 billion deal for the JEDI Cloud project, promoted by the Pentagon, in October 2019, but there were some setbacks.
In recent days, the Pentagon has restarted procedures and transformed the plan into a new multi-buyer contract and will seek joint proposals from Microsoft and Amazon, and is also willing to analyze possible proposals from other interested companies that manage to meet the necessary requirements. The idea is for the new decision to be final, especially given the current delay in proceeding with the project.
Although some Microsoft workers objected to the decision to make a proposal, JEDI would have seen Microsoft supply cloud services for data storage, artificial intelligence activities, and other computer needs. JEDI was put on hold as a result of the lawsuit, but a judge permitted the matter to go to trial this spring.
In 2018, there was a third party interested in the business, but Google withdrew from competing for the JEDI Cloud project and was deemed unable to provide the necessary structure. On the other hand, Amazon, which was defeated, accused then US President Donald Trump of favoring its rival in the choice.
In court, the process went ahead in April this year with a favorable opinion to Amazon’s prosecution — which probably influenced the recent move by the government.
Amazon celebrated the Pentagon’s new decision in a statement, while Microsoft said it respects the decision and that the country’s security is more important than contracts.
