Why the DoD Is Shifting to Multiple Cloud Providers
The outcome of the JWCC effort presents a shift from the previous administration’s strategy of relying on a single cloud provider. As the DOD said in a release, “JWCC is a multiple-award contract vehicle that will provide the DoD the opportunity to acquire commercial cloud capabilities and services directly from the commercial Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) at the speed of mission.”
Forrester analyst Devin Dickerson says awarding the contract to more than one company shows a multicloud strategy that could improve the Pentagon’s bargaining position with major cloud providers and make it easier for offices within the DOD to acquire cloud technologies and services.
CNBC notes that DOD is among a growing number of organizations opting to rely on more than one cloud provider, with some citing cost as a factor and others needing more specialized capabilities from several providers.
LEARN ABOUT: Here are 7 tips for cloud migration.
How the Pentagon Is Influencing Cloud Competition
The Associated Press reports there is “intense” competition to snag large corporate and government cloud contracts. The Pentagon’s award is one of the most coveted because it indicates a stamp of approval in a market where ensuring a client’s data security is imperative. Defense officials say the arrangement of the JWCC deal will promote price and product competition. It’s unclear how many orders will be made, and the task order competition process could take weeks or months to execute.
In comments to The New York Times, Daniel Ives, an analyst who monitors the cloud industry for Wedbush Securities, said this is the biggest Beltway cloud deal in history and was key for all the software vendors involved. “It’s good to finally end this chapter and get a cloud deal finally done for the Pentagon,” he said.
