Microsoft vendors bag $7.6 billion US government deal

The US government has awarded a massive $7.6 billion computing contract to General Dynamics IT, a subsidiary of US aerospace and defence corporation General Dynamics, which will provide Microsoft Office 365 software to the Pentagon.

The contract is the Pentagon's second-biggest for cloud services after $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure (JEDI), expected to be awarded by the Defence Department in September where Amazon and Microsoft are the two finalists.

According to the US Defence Department and General Services Administration, the winner of the Defence Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS) will provide email, calendar, video-calling and other productivity tools to the US military, the Street.com reported late Thursday.

Dell Marketing LP and Minburn Technology Group were the two other winning bidders for DEOS, in addition to General Dynamics.

"DEOS is a great example of a fit-for-purpose cloud that supports our multi-cloud strategy," DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said in a statement.

While Microsoft lost out on the overall contract, it will still be a part of the process as DEOS runs on the Microsoft Office 365 platform.

"DEOS will streamline our use of cloud email and collaborative tools while enhancing cyber security and information sharing based on standardized needs and market offerings," Deasy added.

The Pentagon is currently reviewing the other $10 billion cloud computing contract.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper is re-examining the project as President Donald Trump cited the accusations of favouritism by critics.

"The new review is good news for companies like Oracle and IBM, which have been ousted from the bidding competition," reports NPR.

( With inputs from IANS )