Microsoft is lobbying hard. It wants more cloud contracts outside the United States. Microsoft focuses on this after it won a defense contract for cloud computing, after which Amazon filed a lawsuit about it. Microsoft seems to be becoming more and more successful outside the United States, so it now definitely seems to opt for more foreign adventures.
It wants to offer cloud infrastructure solutions similar to the package that Microsoft provided to the United States Defense Department. It is called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), which provides US security and defense personnel with storage and cloud computing. It also includes devices that can work offline and then sync back to the cloud.
Cloud contracts
It’s a lucrative contract that Microsoft won, in October 2019 it became active and it accounts for about 10 billion dollars for 10 years. No wonder that the company would like to expand this further. It says it also gets many questions from governments outside the United States for this solution.
On the one hand, Microsoft is busy with the American government, while at the same time, it is clearly looking for connections outside that country. It is therefore not yet official. These plans will be unveiled later this year. Microsoft is not yet making any official announcements just yet.
Microsoft
It only says to CNBC: “We’ve worked with governments around the world on a longstanding and reliable basis for four decades. We have government customers using our products to enhance their services with the latest in commercial innovations, deeply engage and connect with citizens in powerful ways, and empower government employees with the modern tools they need to be more efficient and effective, and to give them time back to focus on their agency mission.”
That JEDI contract is wonderful, but not everyone agrees with the award. Amazon Web Services has started a lawsuit. It owns 47 percent of the cloud infrastructure, versus Microsoft with 13 percent. So far, Amazon seems to be right. An injunction has even been issued stipulating that the contract may not be worked on, for now. The Pentagon is still investigating the matter but will speak out on 16 September.
19 hours ago
