14 DAY TRIAL // Software giant Microsoft has confirmed the signing of a new contract with the United States Department of Defense.
The new five-year deal is worth $1.76 billion, and as part of the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, Microsoft will provide the DoD, Intelligence Community and U.S. Coast Guard with enterprise services and support the adoption of cloud solutions.
Microsoft says that according to the terms of the deal it would provide the US DoD with architecture planning, solution design and innovation, and infrastructure optimization, as well as with access to technical support and strategic guidance.
“This Microsoft Services IDIQ will allow us to help enable these government agencies to both accelerate their adoption of cloud solutions, while also helping drive transformation throughout their organizations,” the company explains.
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The firm also explains that the deal will power the faster adoption of cloud technologies, as well as the deployment of other Microsoft products, all while benefitting from advanced support during all phases of the implementation.
“Access to these services will enable the DoD to gain the hands-on support they need to quickly adopt the latest enterprise-class innovations, extend them all the way to the tactical edge, and optimize their general-purpose cloud to support the missions of the DoD, Intelligence Community and U.S. Coast Guard,” it says.
More information on the new deal is available in the contract published by the US DoD here.
Microsoft is aiming high with this kind of deal, and more recently, the company said it also hopes to obtain the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract that has caused protests even from company employees. The contract is worth $10 billion, and has drawn criticism from company workers who said that technology should “not cause harm or human suffering.”