Cloud giant
Microsoft has won a major contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) in the United States. The ‘Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity’ (c) contract was awarded as part of the DoD’s ‘Enterprise Software Initiative’ (ESI). The five-year agreement is reportedly worth $1.76 billion. The contract - which has a January 10, 2024 completion date - will incorporate elements of the US Coast Guard and Intelligence Community’s requirements.
IDIQ contracts require services to be provided over fixed periods. According to the DoD’s recent press release, Microsoft will provide “product engineering services for software developers and product teams to leverage a range of proprietary resources and source-code, and Microsoft premier support for tools, knowledge database, problem resolution assistance, and custom changes to Microsoft source-code when applicable." Specifically, Microsoft will provide architectural planning, solution design and innovation, and infrastructure optimization services. It will also manage knowledge transfer as it related to its products. Microsoft will also be involved in ongoing technical support, problem resolution and guidance.
Microsoft estimates that over 80% of government agencies in the United States currently utilize ‘Microsoft Azure Government’ - an Azure cloud platform designed to meet the requirements of government organizations. Additionally, they estimate 7,000 agencies and 6 million government users at federal, state, and local government level currently leverage Microsoft's FedRAMP High, DFARS, and IRS 1075 certified cloud platform.
“This contract will not obligate funds at the time of award,” explained the DoD website. “Funds will be obligated on individual task orders using primarily operations and maintenance funds (DoD). This sole-source procurement is issued using other than full and open competition in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source,” the website added.
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