The Pentagon is defending its plan for a winner-take-all cloud computing contract that would most likely go to Amazon, Bloomberg reports.
In a report to Congress, the Pentagon seeks to rebut the idea that the contract is guaranteed to go to Amazon, which is a top cloud computing service provider along with Microsoft, Google and IBM.
Cloud computing offers computing services such as storage, networking, or software over the internet — AKA the “cloud.” The Pentagon’s cloud would offer the service for the military’s 3.4 million users and 4 million devices. The Pentagon gave its cloud the name “Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure,” or JEDI cloud — inspired by the popular “Star Wars” franchise.
Since the Defense Department’s announcement of the winner-take-all system, there’s been a debate over whether the data should be stored on one cloud platform or multiple. Some advocates for a multi-platform could program say that it would reduce the ability of hackers to gain access to vital security and military information while some proponents of a single platform cloud program argue a multi-platform cloud program would give hackers more access.
Additionally, Amazon’s deal with the Pentagon could be a national security threat since the company sold technology to China on Nov. 14 that it would use in the Pentagon’s cloud computing program, according to a Wall Street Journal article. (RELATED: Amazon’s Deal With China Is A National Security DISASTER)
The Department of Defense says in the new 15-page report sent to congressional defense committees last week that scattering information “across a multitude of clouds” would hinder “the ability to access and analyze critical data.” The “lack of a common environment for computing and data storage” would limit the effectiveness of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Oracle is leading the charge in the anti-Amazon lobby along with a loose coalition with Microsoft, IBM, Dell, and Hewlett Packard, according to anonymous sources that Bloomberg reported on April 13. The coalition’s goal is to unseat Amazon as the front-runner and ensure the multibillion-dollar deal goes to more than one company.
The Pentagon says it estimates spending $1.63 billion on cloud computing through fiscal year 2023, Bloomberg reported.
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