14 DAY TRIAL // A Department of Defense-wide cloud computing initiative was made public today by the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service in the form of a request for information.
The new cloud computing platform is supposed to help around 3.2 million DOD employees who use tactical radios, computers, and a host of various other Internet-enabled devices which are now seen as "stovepiped enterprises," said Dana Deasy, DOD’s chief information officer.
Stovepipe services use separate data centers and networks which make them highly inefficient when compared to modern day cloud-based tech solutions.
"With cloud computing, those networks and data centers would be consolidated and remote servers would store, manage and process all of the data across the DOD in a much more efficient manner," according to the DOD article.
As detailed by Essye B. Miller, principal deputy, DOD chief information officer, the new cloud computing platform the DOD is seeking to build named Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS) will cost roughly $8 billion for an 11-year period.
Other federal government branches have also expressed their interest in similar cloud computing platforms
Moving all DOD operations from standard day to day ones to secret and tactical ones would eventually allow the DOD to cut down the overall network costs by about $1 billion.
"Miller said this first request for information is for DEOS capability Set 1, which includes enterprise hardware, software licenses and deployment and sustainment services," says the DOD press release. "Two more capability sets will follow and will include audio, video, email, content management, records management and an office productivity suite."
Following GSA's request for information issued today, the DOD will ask for feedback from privately-held vendors interested in building and hosting the DOD DEOS.
Furthermore, Emily W. Murphy, administrator of GSA said "the GSA contract vehicle being used is known as IT Schedule 70. GSA used that contract to put in place its own cloud computing service some time ago."
Other federal government branches have also shown their interest in the DOD's plan to build a cloud platform to replace all their networks, with a specific interest on its cybersecurity and cost-savings aspects.