The Pentagon chose four tech companies to form a $9 billion cloud computing network

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At a press conference Ars attended today, Department of Defense officials discussed the benefits of partnering with Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon to build the new Pentagon cloud computing network. The multi-cloud strategy has been described as a necessary measure to keep military personnel current as technology advances and managers' familiarity with cloud technology has matured.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner says $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract will help rapidly expand cloud capabilities to all departments of defense. He described new acceleration capabilities such as preconfigured templates and infrastructure-as-code that will ensure that even "people who don't understand cloud can take advantage of cloud technologies." Such capabilities could help ground troops easily access data collected by unmanned aircraft or space communications satellites.

“JWCC is a multi-award contractual vehicle that will provide DOD with the ability to acquire commercial cloud services and capabilities directly from commercial cloud service providers (CSPs) at mission speed, at all levels of classification, from headquarters to tactical advantage,” the DOD press release said.

Until now, managers did not have direct access to cloud providers, and military personnel around the world lacked cloud technology capable of providing access to files at all three classification levels : unclassified, secret and top secret. With the JWCC, that changed, and now the Department of Defense expects to be able to pass intelligence more quickly.

How tech companies will split the contract

The $9 billion contract is expected to be completed by June 2028 and will not be split evenly between Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon. Instead, each company has been guaranteed $100,000 and will have to bid for its share of the rest of the budget. Department of Defense officials say this would create price competition, just like in industry, and each job order requiring cloud services will be carefully weighed to identify the best solution. A government evaluation team will select vendors based on the best price and technology based on mission requirements.

Microsoft, which originally entered into a $10 billion sole-vendor agreement with the Pentagon to provide cloud services, which Reuters says was scrapped last year so the Pentagon could pursue more advanced technologies , supported DOD's multi-cloud strategy. Microsoft Federal Chairman Rick Wagner wrote in a blog today that "JWCC's multicloud approach is the right one for DOD's enterprise infrastructure."

"Multicloud is already an established best practice in the commercial sector, as it allows organizations to maximize flexibility, improve resiliency, and access the best technologies from all vendors," Wagner wrote.< /p>

Wagner called the JWCC contract a "significant milestone" and promised that "Microsoft will help deliver essential 21st century technology to our nation's militaries and strengthen America's national security."

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Ars has also contacted other JWCC suppliers. Each offered similar statements, while none yet seemed ready to discuss bidding strategies. Karen Dahut, CEO of Google Public Sector, said Google was "proud to be selected". Oracle Executive Vice President Ken Glueck told Ars, "Designed to enable interoperability, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will help drive DOD's multi-cloud innovation and ensure our defense and intelligence communities have best available technology to protect and preserve our national security". A spokesperson for Amazon Web Services told Ars, "From the enterprise to the tactical edge, we stand ready to deliver industry-leading cloud services to enable DOD to accomplish its critical mission."