Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

14 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

16 hours ago

Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dies at 71, TMZ Reports

17 hours ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

17 hours ago

Meme Stock Surge Underlines Market Froth, Mostly Centered on Retail Investors

17 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

18 hours ago

California Releases Teacher Data. It Shows Big Rise in Hispanic Teachers

18 hours ago

Biting a Bat and 5 Other Wild Moments From Ozzy Osbourne’s Life

19 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

2 days ago
Amazon, Microsoft Wage War Over Pentagon's 'War Cloud'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 9, 2019

Share

Amazon and Microsoft are battling it out over a $10 billion opportunity to build the U.S. military its first “war cloud” computing system. But Amazon’s early hopes of a shock-and-awe victory may be slipping away.

“This is not your grandfather’s internet. You’re talking about a cloud where you can go from the Pentagon literally to the soldier on the battlefield carrying classified information.” — Daniel Goure, vice president, Lexington Institute
Formally called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure plan, or JEDI, the military’s computing project would store and process vast amounts of classified data, allowing the Pentagon to use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities. The Defense Department hopes to award the winner-take-all contract as soon as August. Oracle and IBM were eliminated at an earlier round of the contract competition.
But that’s only if the project isn’t derailed first. It faces a legal challenge by Oracle and growing congressional concerns about alleged Pentagon favoritism toward Amazon. Military officials hope to get started soon on what will be a decade-long business partnership they describe as vital to national security.
“This is not your grandfather’s internet,” said Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a defense-oriented think tank. “You’re talking about a cloud where you can go from the Pentagon literally to the soldier on the battlefield carrying classified information.”
Amazon was considered an early favorite when the Pentagon began detailing its cloud needs in 2017, but its candidacy has been marred by an Oracle allegation that Amazon executives and the Pentagon have been overly cozy. Oracle has a final chance to make its case against Amazon — and the integrity of the government’s bidding process — in a court hearing Wednesday.
Photo of the lobby for the Amazon offices in New York
The lobby for Amazon offices in New York is seen in April 2019. Amazon and Microsoft are battling for a $10 billion opportunity to build the U.S. military its first “war cloud.” (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

JEDI Has Attracted More Attention Than Most Cloud Deals

“This is really the cloud sweepstakes, which is why there are such fierce lawsuits,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.
Ives said an opportunity that was a “no brainer” for Amazon a year ago now seems just as likely to go to Microsoft, which has spent the past year burnishing its credentials to meet the government’s security requirements.
For years, Amazon Web Services has been the industry leader in moving businesses and other institutions onto its cloud — a term used to describe banks of servers in remote data centers that can be accessed from almost anywhere. But Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has been steadily catching up, as have other providers such as Google, in both corporate and government settings.
With an acronym evoking “Star Wars” and a price tag of up to $10 billion over the next decade, JEDI has attracted more attention than most cloud deals. A cloud strategy document unveiled by the Defense Department last year calls for replacing the military’s “disjointed and stove-piped information systems” with a commercial cloud service “that will empower the warfighter with data and is critical to maintaining our military’s technological advantage.”
In a court filing last month, Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo said further delays in the Oracle case will “hamper our critical efforts in AI” as the U.S. tries to maintain its advantage over adversaries who are “weaponizing their use of data.” Shwedo said JEDI’s computing capabilities could help the U.S. analyze data collected from surveillance aircraft, predict when equipment needs maintenance and speed up communications if fiber and satellite connections go down.

Pentagon’s Bid Seemed Tailor-Made for Amazon

Worried that the Pentagon’s bid seemed tailor-made for Amazon, rivals Oracle and IBM lodged formal protests last year arguing against the decision to award it to a single vendor.

“No one seems to deny that these were actual conflicts and the players affirmatively attempted to conceal them. That simply cannot be tolerated.” — Steven Schooner, professor of government procurement law, George Washington University
In an October blog post, IBM executive Sam Gordy wrote that a single-cloud approach went against industry trends and “would give bad actors just one target to focus on should they want to undermine the military’s IT backbone.”
The Government Accountability Office later dismissed those protests, but Oracle persisted by taking its case to the Court of Federal Claims, where it has pointed to emails and other documents that it says show conflicts of interest between Amazon and the government. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Wednesday. The case has delayed the procurement process, though the Pentagon says it now hopes to award the contract as early as Aug. 23.
Oracle’s argument is centered on the activities of a Defense Department official who later went to work for Amazon. Amazon says Oracle has exaggerated that employee’s role in the procurement using “tabloid sensationalism.”
Some defense-contracting experts say the conflict allegations are troubling.
“No one seems to deny that these were actual conflicts and the players affirmatively attempted to conceal them,” said Steven Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University. “That simply cannot be tolerated.”
Photo of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
In May 2018, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is seen at Build, the company’s annual conference for software developers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Military Leaders Expected to Engage With Industry

But Goure, whose think tank gets funding from Amazon but not from its cloud rivals Microsoft, Oracle or IBM, said the criticism is “coming from the also-rans.” He says rivals like Oracle “missed the boat” in cloud technology and are trying to make up lost ground through legal maneuvers.
The Pentagon has repeatedly defended its bidding process, though the concerns have trickled into Congress and onto prime-time TV. Fox News host Tucker Carlson devoted a segment last month to the cloud contract that questioned an Amazon executive’s 2017 meeting with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Carlson also aired concerns by Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, who said “the allegations are incredible” and should be investigated.
A Wall Street Journal report on Sunday further detailed government emails about that meeting and another one between Mattis and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos later that year. In response, Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said the bidding process should be started over.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

DON'T MISS

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

DON'T MISS

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

DON'T MISS

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

DON'T MISS

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

DON'T MISS

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

DON'T MISS

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

UP NEXT

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

UP NEXT

Michael Whatley, RNC Chair, to Run for Senate in North Carolina

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

UP NEXT

Justice Department to Assess Claims of ‘Alleged Weaponization’ of US Intelligence Community

UP NEXT

White House Not Denying That Trump’s Name Appears in Epstein Files, Official Says

UP NEXT

White House Taps Mining Expert to Head National Security Office, Sources Say

UP NEXT

White House Says WSJ Report on Trump Being Told Name in Epstein Files “Fake News”

UP NEXT

US Judge Rejects Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts From Florida Probe

UP NEXT

US Republicans Continue Push to Override California Animal Welfare Law

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

11 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

11 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

11 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

12 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

12 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

12 hours ago

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

13 hours ago

How Long Will Fresno’s Resort-Like Summer Weather Continue?

13 hours ago

Tulare County Judge Reduces Sentence for Teen Convicted in Killing Orosi Teacher

14 hours ago

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

14 hours ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Fresno State’s first football practice of 2025 began with a flyover. While the military jet’s path may have been coincidental, t...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Miguel Lara, a Hoover High School soccer coach, was arrested Thursday for possessing child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
9 hours ago

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

9 hours ago

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

11 hours ago

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

11 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

12 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, looks on, before President Trump signs the "Genius Act", which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend