The Wrath of Amazon: JEDI wars rage on after US Department of Defense affirms Microsoft contract
- Reference: 1599481581
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/09/07/jedi_wars_aws_continues_to/
- Source link:
The contentious $10bn Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud Procurement was [2]awarded to Microsoft in October 2019 , but has been disputed by both Oracle and Amazon Web Services.
Last week the DoD completed its "comprehensive re-evaluation of the JEDI cloud proposals" and stated that "Microsoft's proposal continues to represent the best value to the government."
In its broadside later that day, in the form of [3]blistering blogpost , AWS insisted it had offered a deal with a cost lower by “tens of millions of dollars.” The DoD has not published any detail on the reasoning behind its re-evaluation.
Makes sense, this does, says US appeals court as it swats away Oracle's protests in $10bn JEDI contract spat [4]READ MORE
While fellow JEDI bidder Oracle’s protest may have run out of steam thanks to an [5]appeal court ruling last week, AWS filed its own, separate vendor bias complaint back [6]in November 2019 . A [7]series of preliminary injunctions won by the cloud giant - culminating in a [8]stay it was granted in August [PDF] ) - mean that there will be no movement on the project until least 17 September (next Thursday).
In a nutshell, AWS's complaint alleged that Microsoft's proposal around a type of online storage offered in "Price Scenario 6", was not technically compliant with the DoD's stated requirements, and should have therefore been pulled out of the running.
The US Court of Federal Claims granted the [9]injunction , which forbids the Department of Defense from proceeding with implementation activities until “further order of the court”, on the basis that parts of the legal challenge were likely to succeed – but also required AWS to put up $42m security in case costs are awarded against it.
A very public dispute...
Why is AWS pursuing this with such vigour? The contract has a high value but it is not just about money. AWS's response showed its indignation that another vendor should be preferred so publicly over its own cloud, with its insistence that “AWS is the clear leader in cloud computing, and by any objective measure, has superior technology.”
The other side of this coin is that AWS would not have won its injunction if its complaint did not have some merit, not on the question of who runs the best public cloud, but rather on points of detail like whether Microsoft’s solution meets the DoD’s stated requirements for “online and replicated storage.”
The new statement – and the fact that the stay on AWS's court case will expire next week – means that we should learn more soon. This one is not over yet. ®
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[1] https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2337557/dod-reaffirms-original-jedi-cloud-award-to-microsoft/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/26/microsoft_wins_jedi_deal/
[3] https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/publicsector/jedi-why-we-will-continue-protest-politically-corrupted-contract-award/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/02/oracle_jedi_appeal/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/02/oracle_jedi_appeal/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/11/15/amazon_jedi_court_contest/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/20/us_judge_deploys_freeze_beam
[8] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/09/02/dod_order_stay_jedi.pdf
[9] https://ecf.cofc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2019cv1796-173-0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Yoda thought so...
Let's be honest - they are the leader
I'm not a particular fan of theirs, but if the US are going to have a (ridiculous) one-vendor deal, it should be with AWS.
Re: Let's be honest - they are the leader
For cloud infrastructure, they're all much of a muchness. If I were in govt procurement and found all this hassle for not agreeing to a particular vendor, I think I'd exclude the whingers from the next procurement deal.
Was this the contract that was originally awarded to AWS?
They all blur together over time.
Re: Was this the contract that was originally awarded to AWS?
No, the article describes in more detail, but the course was basically this:
Contract created by department, bids requested -> Oracle's bid to run part rejected as the provider needs to run all of it -> Google decides to drop out -> Amazon and Microsoft submit bids -> Microsoft's bid accepted -> Amazon sues saying Microsoft's is invalid -> Oracle sues saying "we want money and we're unhappy we didn't get some" -> Amazon wins a preliminary case -> Oracle eventually loses theirs -> Amazon loses a case -> Amazon wins a case -> department says they still like Microsoft -> Amazon doesn't like to hear that, tries again -> you are here.
Expect that this will end soon, maybe 2027 or so.
Is it a case of sour grapes, or is it a legitimate concern?
Only time will tell.
Packing up my stuff to go over to greener pastures. --->
Not Surprise
No matter who won the contract there were going to be (meritless) lawsuits claiming it was not properly awarded. A contract this big is bound to get scrutiny. With hardware (ships, planes, etc.) it is easier for the losers to still get some subcontracts as a consolation prize from the winner. Plus there is often another project to bid on in the near future. With this type of project it's all-or-nothing, the prime is not going to subcontract out anything worthwhile to get the losing bidders.
Private Military Contractors for Novel Space Missions/Future Civil Virtual Defence Projects.
FFS, Oracle and Amazon Web Services, stop whining like two jilted schoolgirls and think about setting up your own JEDI Operations. It aint rocket science, is it?
Give the military something else to think about, exercising and exhausting their great matter if you think they are worth it.
Re: Private... ...Projects.
It's working
https://youtu.be/Q64AVbtrRj4
an oldie, but a goodie
Shouldn’t have annoyed the orange one.