Microsoft Azure to provide military cloud computing, and help bring trusted computing to the tactical edge
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. government information technology (IT) experts needed a military cloud computing infrastructure based on commercial technology for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. intelligence community. They found their solution from Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash.
Officials of the Washington Headquarters Service in Alexandria, Va., announced a potential $10 billion ten-year contract to Microsoft on Friday for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud project to for the company to provide modern, enterprise-level cloud services to DOD, based on an existing, large, globally available public offering.
The Microsoft Azure cloud computing subsidiary will provide enterprise-level, commercial cloud services as infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) to the DOD and related mission partners, from homefront to the tactical edge.
Microsoft Azure reportedly prevailed in the JEDI Cloud project over Amazon.com Inc. in Seattle to become the federal government’s primary cloud-computing vendor.
Earlier this month Microsoft Azure introduced a military-rugged version of the company's Azure Data Box family for forward-deployed operating units, ground patrols, or similar mission needs at the tactical edge. The Azure Data Box Edge appliance is for transferring data to and from the Microsoft Azure cloud computing network.
This contract enables Microsoft Azure to provide cloud computing, cyber security, and trusted-computing services to the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force; the defense intelligence community; and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Before the JEDI cloud contract, the DOD’s lack of a coordinated enterprise-level approach to cloud infrastructure has made it virtually impossible for U.S. warfighters and leaders to make critical data-driven decisions at mission-speed, DOD experts explain.
In the absence of modern cloud services, warfighters and leaders have been forced to choose between foregoing capabilities or slogging through a lengthy acquisition, rollout, and provisioning process.
A fragmented and largely on-premise computing and storage solution forces the warfighter into tedious data and application management processes, compromising their ability to rapidly access, manipulate, and analyze data at the home front and tactical edge.
Most importantly, current environments have not been optimized to support large, cross-domain analysis using advanced capabilities such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to meet warfighting needs and requirements.
Related: Army modernizes, migrates to cloud computing
Microsoft Azure will offer JEDI Cloud services at all classification levels, across the home front to the tactical edge, including disconnected and austere environments, and closed-loop networks. The company also will produce industry-standard metrics.
The JEDI Cloud contract has eight primary objectives: provide worldwide cloud computing services; provide data accessibility from the homefront to the tactical edge; centralized management and distributed control; ease of use; parity with commercially available cloud services; provide a modern and elastic computing, data storage, and network infrastructure; provide data security; and offer advanced data analytics.
Globally available services means that Microwave will provide a worldwide, highly available, resilient infrastructure that supports geographically dispersed users -- including austere and connectivity-deprived environments at all classification levels.
Accessibility means Microwave will provide cloud services also will provide automated failover and enables interoperability between applications and access to data.
Centralized management and distributed control requires Microsoft Azure to establish a central cloud computing program office to oversee and manage cloud services for the DOD, including applying security policies; monitoring security compliance and service usage across the network; and accrediting standardized service configurations.
Ease of use decreases the technical expertise necessary to store data and access, deploy, and manage applications using cloud services.
Commercial parity with commercially available cloud service requires Microsoft Azure to provide services to DOD that keep pace with advancements in industry, and rapidly make new features available to DOD as they become commercially available.
Modern and elastic computing, storage and network infrastructure means updating cloud services regularly, including processing architectures, servers, storage options, and platform software.
Fortified security means Microsoft Azure will provide enhanced cyber security and trusted computing defenses from the root level of systems through the application layer and down to the data layer with continuous monitoring and auditing, automated threat identification, resiliency against persistent adversary threat, and an operating environment that meets or exceeds DOD information security requirements.
Related: Secure cloud computing for forward-deployed military forces introduced by Thales
Advanced data analytics means Microsoft Azure will provide an environment that securely enables data-driven and timely decision making at tactical and strategic levels, including machine learning and artificial intelligence.
On this contract Microsoft Azure will do the work at various locations, and will be finished by October 2029, if DOD exercises all options.
For more information contact Microsoft Azure online at https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us, or the Washington Headquarters Service at www.whs.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
