What you need to know
- Microsoft is reportedly seeking cloud contracts with foreign governments similar to its JEDI deal with the Pentagon.
- Microsoft won the JEDI bid in a deal worth $10 billion over 10 years.
- The JEDI contract has been challenged by Amazon and is currently tied up in a court battle.
Microsoft's winning $10 billion bid for the Pentagon's Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract has spurred the company to pursue potential deals with foreign governments, reports CNBC. Though the JEDI contract is currently tied up in courts after a challenge from Amazon, Microsoft reportedly sees it as a potential blueprint for "cloud-infrastructure packages similar to the bundle it assembled for the U.S. Defense Department" according to sources who spoke with CNBC.
From CNBC:
The company plans to announce the effort later this year, one person said, adding that intelligence agencies and militaries outside the U.S. might use it. Another person briefed on the work said Microsoft already has foreign cloud government contracts, despite that it has not announced the new strategy yet. It's not clear which countries Microsoft is most focused on.
Microsoft declined to comment on the matter to CNBC, but did provide the following statement:
We've worked with governments around the world on a longstanding and reliable basis for four decades. We have government customers using our products to enhance their services with the latest in commercial innovations, deeply engage and connect with citizens in powerful ways, and empower government employees with the modern tools they need to be more efficient and effective, and to give them time back to focus on their agency mission.
The push would show Microsoft doubling down on making its cloud infrastructure an appealing choice for government work. According to CNBC, Microsoft made the decision after seeing work on the JEDI contract paused by court challenges.
After winning the JEDI contract, Amazon claimed personal interference from President Donald J. Trump resulted in it losing out on the $10 billion contract. The company later sought and received an order from a judge to halt work on the contract while it challenged the bidding process in court. Microsoft and Amazon have since traded jabs as the case wears on.
