In a statement on Friday, the Pentagon revealed that it will provide these to the Defense Department, Coast Guard, and intelligence services. The contract is indefinite delivery/quantity, meaning Microsoft can give an indefinite number of services until January 10, 2024. “Support includes Microsoft product engineering services for software developers and product teams to leverage a range of proprietary resources and source-code, and Microsoft premier support for tools, knowledge database, problem resolution assistance, and custom changes to Microsoft source-code when applicable,” explained the DoD. Microsoft’s contract is a worldwide one, with the DoD able to pay it using operations and maintenance funds on individual task orders. It comes under the organization’s Enterprise Software Initiative, which seeks to “streamline the acquisition process” of compliant software.
JEDI Mind Tricks
Google, meanwhile, said it left because there was no guarantee it wouldn’t violate its AI principles. It also believes some of its specifications were out of its scope. Whatever the outcome, Microsoft now has $1.76 billion and a lot to prove.
