Microsoft bags major win over Amazon in cloud battle

Just as Amazon filed a complaint after Microsoft was awarded the Pentagon’s $10bn JEDI contract, Microsoft has taken issue with the National Security Agency (NSA) awarding Amazon a different US government contract also worth $10bn.

The secret cloud computing contract, code-named WildandStormy, was awarded to Amazon back in August though details about the contract were scarce given how it is part of the NSA’s efforts to move its classified data repository to the cloud.

In fact, the few details we do know about the contract only came to light after Microsoft, which was one of the other bidders, filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after losing the lucrative deal to Amazon.

While the Pentagon’s JEDI contract was canceled back in July of this year, it now appears like history is set to repeat itself with the NSA’s WildandStormy contract.

Siding with Microsoft

The US Government and Accountability Office has now issued its decision in response to Microsoft’s protest and the government agency says the software giant was right to contest the award as parts of the NSA’s evaluation were “unreasonable”.

In a new statement on the project, GAO said that it “found certain aspects of the agency’s evaluation to be unreasonable and, in light thereof, recommended that NSA reevaluate the proposals consistent with the decision and make a new source selection determination”.

While GAO’s full decision on the matter is actually classified since Microsoft’s protest record included classified information, the watchdog is planning to release a version for the public at a later date.

Will Amazon get to keep the lucrative WildandStormy contract or will Microsoft’s complaint lead the NSA to reevaluate both companies’ proposals? Only time will tell but after all of the drama surrounding the JEDI contract, the US government likely wants to prevent a similar situation from taking place.

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Via The Register