Amazon will challenge Pentagon's award of $10 billion JEDI contract to Microsoft

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Thu Nov 14, 2019, 07:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post



Amazon said Thursday it will protest a Pentagon decision to award Microsoft a massive cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion, citing “unmistakable bias” and “political influence.” The controversial and long-delayed Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract had been widely expected to go to Amazon Web Services but was instead awarded to rival Microsoft last month. Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said in an e-mailed statement that contract awards should be “free from political influence.”

In July, President Trump directed Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper to reexamine the contract, citing concerns it would go to Amazon. In an emailed response to Amazon’s statement Defense Department spokeswoman Elissa Smith said “we will not speculate on potential litigation.” The JEDI contract, announced in March 2018, is meant to modernize the Pentagon’s computing infrastructure in the hands of a commercial tech company.

“AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the U.S. military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD’s modernization efforts,” Herdener said. “We also believe it’s critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence. Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias- and it’s important that these matters be examined and rectified.”

Amazon is the commercial cloud computing market leader by a long-shot, holding a leading 48 percent market share, according to market-research firm Gartner. Microsoft is the second-largest with a 15.5 percent share. Amazon is also the only company to hold the Defense Department’s highest-level security certification, called Impact Level 6. Microsoft made important strides during the year-long period the award was tied up in litigation, finalizing a number of partnerships that observers say may have narrowed the field somewhat.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/14/amazon-will-challenge-pentagons-award-billion-jedi-contract-microsoft/

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Well that was to be expected. Protest here we come!

Original article and headline -

Amazon will challenge Pentagon’s award of $10 billion JEDI contract to Microsoft, citing ‘unmistakable bias’

By Washington Post Staff
November 14, 2019 at 5:54 p.m. EST

The controversial and long-delayed contract had been widely expected to go to Amazon Web Services but was instead awarded to rival Microsoft last month.

Amazon said in a statement that contract awards should be “free from political influence.” In July, President Trump directed Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper to reexamine the contract, citing concerns it would go to Amazon.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2019/11/14/amazon-will-challenge-pentagons-award-of-10-billion-jedi-contract-to-microsoft-citing-unmistakable-bias/

[Perseus]

1. I am starting to think that trump is one person in front of the cameras and another one behind

the scenes.

In front of the cameras he is an idiot, someone who has trouble communicating, an ignorant, a liar, etc, etc.

Behind the scenes he must be something else because everyone around him fears him so much, people who have gone to very good Universities, have law and other degrees, have been in government for a long time and one hopes have a concept of what is good and bad should be able to understand they are part of a very corrupt administration and their boss is a very corrupt and evil man who will at any time throw anyone under the bus.

Knowing all that, what makes people drop their pants for him? I don't get it, I simply don't get it. I know there are reasons like "compromise", but how has he done it, if he has? What is the attraction to such a repulsive man?

[hunter]

12. Trump himself is a meat puppet, just as Ronald Reagan was a meat puppet.

The power is in the hand that moves the meat puppet.

This is hell's version of Sesame Street.

The Cookie Monster here eats souls.

[NurseJackie]

2. That seems to be normal and par for the course any more...

... I think it's just a sore-loser tactic. My son works for a well-known DOD contractor. His job is now "on hold" while the sore-losers challenge the contract. The agency he was to be working for has basically mothballed the project he was to be working on until the process sorts itself out. (Thank goodness his husband is also working and they can make ends meet without dipping too much into savings.) In situations like this (without a project to bill his hours to) his employer won't keep him on "overhead". If this goes on too long he'll begin to look for employment elsewhere. But, that's the life of a gov't contractor. It's good while it's good, but it's only good for the life of the contract... and even newly won contracts aren't actually won until all the sore-loser challenges have been exhausted.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Yeah I have seen these types of contracts come through my agency before I retired

There is a process to do a protest and vendors have to have all kinds of justification to get it adjudicated. Bizarrely enough, with all the media reports of Drumpf dissing Amazon publicly (along with Bezos and WaPo), then they may have a case.

But agree that anyone working contracts with the federal government has to be very aware of the potential transient nature of it and what is worse in this era of more government shutdowns due to a lack of appropriations, then there's the extra stress of not getting paid during a lapse in appropriations (unless they are maybe under one of the large contractors who can continue to pay their staff out of their pockets until a resolution to the appropriations occurs).

[Gothmog]

3. Once again, trump's tweets and statements will be used in this litgation

There are a ton of tweets by trump attacking Bezos that will be used as evidence in this lawsuit

[Zorro]

5. On the surface Amazon can make a strong argument about political bias

The final outcome will depend how the evaluation criteria was applied and if the proposal evaluations can be defended. There should be a lot of evidence to back up the award decision.

[DAMANgoldberg]

6. I have dev accounts on both services

Last edited Thu Nov 14, 2019, 10:54 PM - Edit history (2)

I don't consider myself an expert or even above the novice level in the cloud. I also admire both companies, Microsoft even more. However, it's clearly obvious that Trump had a hand on the scale that tilted it against Amazon for petty reasons. I don't blame Amazon for being pissed.

I would split the contract myself between the 2. In tech, putting all of your eggs in one basket/company is a bad idea. Redundancy, Redundancy, Redundancy. 🎶 #justsayin

[Backseat Driver]

10. Looks as crazy as that nitwit Michael Fenne

[DAMANgoldberg]

11. That would be the most recent CEO of Microsoft...

who now owns the LA Clippers, Steve Ballmer, during one of his early fun times in a speech to developers. At the time, Microsoft was basically inward-focused around Windows and Office. Now they are as much as a cloud and open source company as the Windows world with Satya Nadella.

[Yavin4]

7. Microsoft's response: "This is not the massive cloud computing contract you're looking for." nt

[BumRushDaShow]

8. ...

(have been wanting to do that to you )

[Midnight Writer]

9. If the Washington Post just printed some dirt on Biden, I'm sure Trump would Tweet a reversal.