{"id":31654,"date":"2021-07-09T15:09:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T15:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/09\/with-jedi-cloud-scuttled-pentagon-embraces-critics-idea-of-multicloud-for-digital-warfare\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:09:41","slug":"with-jedi-cloud-scuttled-pentagon-embraces-critics-idea-of-multicloud-for-digital-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2021\/07\/09\/with-jedi-cloud-scuttled-pentagon-embraces-critics-idea-of-multicloud-for-digital-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"With JEDI cloud scuttled, Pentagon embraces critics\u2019 idea of multicloud for digital warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 For years, the Pentagon said it needed one giant enterprise cloud environment<\/a> to bring big data and advanced artificial intelligence to the battlefield, and it pursued one company to provide it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But from the outset years ago, industry critics warned that one vendor and one enterprise cloud wasn\u2019t the optimal way to manage its vast data stores and provide access to inventive technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the Pentagon succumbed to a yearslong court challenge<\/a> from the losing vendor that blocked the huge, singular enterprise cloud known best by its acronym JEDI, Defense Department technology leaders are buying into the notion that multiple clouds sewn together are better than one as the military shifts its thinking to prepare for war in the digital age. Experts praised the change that they said will allow the Pentagon to tailor cloud its workloads, take advantage of industry innovation and save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou must have multicloud really to be as successful as you can be, to go with the best fit for your mission need given the varying capabilities that each of the CSPs [cloud service providers] bring to the fight in their given area,\u201d acting Chief Information Officer John Sherman told reporters earlier this week when he announced that the Pentagon would replace JEDI with the multicloud Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Mihelcic, former chief technology officer of the Defense Information Systems Agency, said that the switch to multicloud means the department is trying not to be \u201coverly prescriptive\u201d and gifting IT staff the flexibility to pick the cloud that\u2019s \u201cmost appropriate for their mission requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery system is different. One size doesn\u2019t fit all. They might have different capabilities in terms of features, in terms of processing speeds for various functions,\u201d said Mihelcic, now a consultant at DMMI Associates. \u201cGiving these program offices and developers the ability to pick the most appropriate cloud is going to help them deliver their capability more quickly and with the best feature set for the right customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department stressed that the multicloud would be more flexible than JEDI, or the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, a contract that would have been worth up to $10 billion over a decade. With JEDI, the single-award structure was the primary criticism of observers who feared the department would get locked into one vendor long term and cut off access to changes in technology. With JWCC, the cloud solution will provide DoD components the \u201ccritical flexibility to tailor cloud solutions that best support their specific workloads and mission needs,\u201d the department JWCC fact sheet states.<\/p>\n\n\n\t