{"id":21199,"date":"2018-04-24T19:43:47","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T19:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/24\/jedi-cloud-contract-fair-and-open-competition-shanahan-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:06:40","slug":"jedi-cloud-contract-fair-and-open-competition-shanahan-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/it-networks\/2018\/04\/24\/jedi-cloud-contract-fair-and-open-competition-shanahan-says\/","title":{"rendered":"JEDI cloud contract \u2018fair and open\u2019 competition, Shanahan says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 A controversial Pentagon cloud-computing contract<\/a> is drawing undue criticism, Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, cloud contract, a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract that could be worth billions of dollars<\/a> over the next decade, represents the first major step toward a cloud-based future<\/a> for the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it has also drawn accusations that the way the contract has been formulated guarantees only Amazon or Google can truly compete for the work, and the decision to formulate it as a series of options has some arguing the winner of JEDI will have a de facto stranglehold on the Pentagon\u2019s cloud-computing structure in perpetuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan, for his part, finds the lack of faith in the Pentagon\u2019s plans disturbing. The deputy expressed frustration with characterizations in the press of JEDI as a sole-source, all-encompassing contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe approach here has been really around a fair and open competition,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cWe want to create long-term, strong industrial partnerships, but we want multiple partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of options for the contract means that after two years \u201cwe don\u2019t have to go through the acquisition process again. If it\u2019s working, extend it. If it\u2019s not working, here are the keys, thank you. So when you say \u2018winner take all,\u2019 it\u2019s also \u2018winner take it all back\u2019 after two years. \u2026 This is about for us preserving options, creating competition and scale, but also moving quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, JEDI represents, according to Shanahan, only about 20 percent of the Defense Department\u2019s expected cloud needs. It is but a first step, and so even if one contractor finds success and controls the JEDI portion for the next decade, other cloud providers will have a chance to win future contracts. <\/p>\n\n\n\t