Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Wins $10 Billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Project From Pentagon

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has outpaced Amazon to win the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Project from Pentagon. Donald Trump, the US president, and other rivals criticized the competitive bid of Amazon.

Who bids on the JEDI Project?

Tech giants such as IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon have submitted their competitive bids to win the decade long cloud computing contract. According to speculations, Amazon could be the sole winner of the defense contract. However, Pentagon has handed over the multi-billion defense project to Microsoft.

Trump is against Amazon

Trump expressed his ire against Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Amazon, and said he would take a long look at the process because of complaints from several quarters. Mark Esper, a defense secretary, rescued himself from the process because his son is working in one of the firms that submitted a bid.

JEDI Project allows the use of AI by the US defense to expedite the planning of war and enhance fighting capabilities. The cloud computing project stores and process huge amounts of data to facilitate quick planning of the war.

The Defense Department has sought to develop a new cloud-based system last year to replace the stove-piped and disjointed information systems. Commercial cloud service ensures technical advantage for the defense forces by providing critical data.

According to a communiqué, Pentagon allayed the doubts and said the procurement process followed the guidelines in selecting the right contractor for the JEDI Project. In the past, Pentagon awarded ten separate cloud contracts worth $11 billion. The JEDI project follows the same philosophy of multi-cloud and multi-vendor approach.

Microsoft holds second place in public cloud computing with a share of 16%, whereas Amazon occupies the first place with a lion share of 48%. IBM and Oracle are eliminated in the early process leaving Amazon and Microsoft in the race for the large defense contract. The loss of a cloud computing project is a considerable setback for Amazon. Some large tech firms have filed lawsuits accusing the US military of favoring Amazon. Google is not in the race because its employees are against supporting the defense contracts of the US and against AI ethics.

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