HomeWinBuzzer NewsMicrosoft Once Again Wins JEDI Contract Following DoD Investigation

Microsoft Once Again Wins JEDI Contract Following DoD Investigation

The Department of Defense has reconfirmed Microsoft as the winner of the JEDI cloud contract, by Amazon is not backing down.

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's position as winner of the 's JEDI cloud defense contract has been given a seal of approval this week. Following an investigation, the US Department of Defense (DoD) once again said Microsoft has won the $10 billion contract. It seems the reaffirmation has ended Amazon Web Service's protests over the process.

However, Amazon is doubling down on its position that Microsoft won the JEDI contract unfairly. In response to once again missing out, AWS hit out at the investigation and President Donald Trump.

Still, it will be Microsoft celebrating winning the JEDI deal for a second time. The company's Azure cloud services were upheld as the best choice for the project, according to the DoD:

“The Department has completed its comprehensive re-evaluation of the JEDI Cloud proposals and determined that Microsoft's proposal continues to represent the best value to the Government,” the DoD points out in a statement. “The JEDI Cloud contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that will make a full range of cloud computing services available to the DoD.”

If you're unfamiliar with JEDI, it is the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project. Microsoft's cloud services will underpin an overhaul of the DoD's computing infrastructure. Microsoft was originally awarded the contract a year ago.

Amazon did not take the situation lying down and immediately started legal proceedings to stop Microsoft. Amazon's argument was always resting on the idea the process was unfair. While Amazon did not seek the multi-cloud approach some rivals did, AWS thought it was not given a fair chance.

Not Backing Down

Much of Amazon's issue rests on a belief Donald Trump influenced the outcome of the project because of bias against the company. In fact, AWS wanted Trump to testify during the investigation.

The company previously highlighted Trump's words on the campaign trail, where he vowed that Amazon would have problems under his presidency. He also referred to Jeff Bezos as “Jeff Bozo”, and has taken issue with his newspaper, the Washington Post.

Following the confirmation yesterday Microsoft will go ahead as the JEDI contract winner, Amazon is doubling down on its position. The company once against attacked the process and called out Trump.

Amazon describes the process as “flawed, biased, and politically corrupted' and goes on to say that the award ‘creates a dangerous precedent that threatens the integrity of the federal procurement system”.

“There is a recurring pattern to the way President Trump behaves when he's called out for doing something egregious: first he denies doing it, then he looks for ways to push it off to the side, to distract attention from it and delay efforts to investigate it (so people get bored and forget about it). And then he ends up doubling down on the egregious act anyway.”

Amazon's court proceedings included an injunction that prevents Microsoft beginning work on the project. However, the DoD says work will start when the injunction is lifted.

“While contract performance will not begin immediately due to the Preliminary Injunction Order issued by the Court of Federal Claims on February 13, 2020, DoD is eager to begin delivering this capability to our men and women in uniform.”

SourceDoD
Luke Jones
Luke Jones
Luke has been writing about all things tech for more than five years. He is following Microsoft closely to bring you the latest news about Windows, Office, Azure, Skype, HoloLens and all the rest of their products.

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