The US Department of Defense (DoD) says it wishes to reconsider a decision to award the multi-billion-dollar JEDI cloud contract to Microsoft. This is perhaps some victory for Amazon who had protested the decision.
The DOD “wishes to reconsider its award decision in response to the other technical challenges presented by AWS,” according to a court filing. The filling refers to Amazon as Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The contract is known as Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI). It involves providing cloud storage for top-secret military data and technology like artificial Intelligence to the DOD. JEDI has the potential to generate up to $10 billion over 10 years.
The DoD awarded the contract to Microsoft Azure Business over Amazon Web Services in October 2019. This decision, however, was baffling to experts due to Amazon’s leadership in the cloud business. Amazon then contested the decision at the US Court of Federal Claims. Its argument was that the award to Microsoft was politically motivated because President Donald Trump dislikes Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos.
Also Read:
– Microsoft Revises Its Revenue Projections Due To Coronavirus
– Microsoft and Google Disagree On Proposed Ban Of Facial Recognition
– iOS 14 Rumours Suggests That Apple Is Making An High-End Headphone
This month, the judge presiding over the case acknowledged Amazon’s case had some merit.
Microsoft supports the decision to reconsider JEDI contract
Amazon in response to the DoD’s decision expressed pleasure that the Department has “has acknowledged ‘substantial and legitimate’ issues that affected the JEDI award decision, and that corrective action is necessary.”
“We look forward to complete, fair, and effective corrective action that fully insulates the re-evaluation from political influence and corrects the many issues affecting the initial flawed award,” Amazon further said.
Microsoft, on the other hand, also says it supports the reconsideration of the contract. It said:
“[The] decision to reconsider a small number of factors as it is likely the fastest way to resolve all issues and quickly provide the needed modern technology to people across our armed forces.”
For your daily dose of tech, lifestyle and trending content, make sure to follow Plat4om on Twitter @Plat4omLive, on Instagram @Plat4om, on LinkedIn at Plat4om, and on Facebook at Plat4om. You can also email us at info@techtalkwithtdafrica.com. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE.