Pentagon awards $8 billion cloud business contract

The Defense Department has awarded a 10-year, $7.6 billion cloud-based email and business software contract to a team led by General Dynamics Information Technology.

The Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract will move DOD users and systems to the Microsoft Office 365 platform and serve as many as 3.15 million users.

In addition to email, spreadsheets, productivity tools and word processing software the contract includes web conferencing, instant messaging, native audio and video and mobility through the commercial cloud model.

"DOD's cloud strategy includes both general purpose and fit-for-purpose clouds. DEOS is a great example of a fit-for-purpose cloud that supports our multi-cloud strategy," DOD CIO Dana Deasy said in an Aug. 29 statement.

"DEOS will streamline our use of cloud email and collaborative tools while enhancing cybersecurity and information sharing based on standardized needs and market offerings."

The Marine Corps announced plans to be an early DEOS customer, leveraging the tools for use in challenging environments.

"The Marine Corps looks forward to the promise and substantial benefits that DEOS presents with its capabilities. We are hopeful that it will supply the ability to operate within the disconnected, degraded, intermittent and low bandwidth environments that are anticipated in 21st century conflicts," said Kenneth Bible, deputy CIO and deputy director C4 at USMC headquarters.

"The Marine Corps continues to forge a path with our [Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, or Limited Bandwidth] pilot, shaping the services' strategies for DEOS to more closely align with current technological trends and advancements as cloud continues to be the industry standard."

The Defense Information Systems Agency and the General Services Administration collaborated on developing the contract, leveraging GSA's IT Schedule 70 to access commercial cloud services offerings. GDIT is joined by team partners Dell Marketing L.P. and Minburn Technology Group.

This article was first posted to FCW, a partner site to Defense Systems.