US technology behemoth Microsoft has been awarded a lucrative five-year contract worth $1.76bn by the US Department of Defence.
Microsoft will be tasked with the responsibility of providing business services to the Department of Defence (DOD), the intelligence community and the US Coast Guard.
The Trump administration has placed domestic security high on its agenda and this has been reflected in the announcement of this agreement with Microsoft. In a statement issued to the press, the company stated that the partnership would enable it to help both the DOD and the Space Naval Warfare Systems Command accelerate the adoption of cloud solutions in an effort to transform the organisation.
Under the deal, Microsoft will offer the following engineering and technology strategy support:
- Enterprise-wide and organisation-specific architectural planning, solution design and innovation, and infrastructure optimisation;
- Implementation, deployment and knowledge transfer of Microsoft products, cloud technologies and network solutions support;
- Access to technical support, problem resolution, solution workshops, strategic guidance; and
- Assistance to customers with technical issues pertaining to developing cloud, intranet, internet strategies, prototyping and implementation and development of solutions spanning infrastructure and application areas.
Microsoft vice-president of US Public Sector Services, Catherine Kuenzel, outlined the benefits of the collaboration and said the expertise provided by Microsoft will help the Department of Defence optimize its operations.
Kuenzel said, "Access to these services will enable the DoD to gain the hands-on support they need to quickly adopt the latest enterprise-class innovations, extend them all the way to the tactical edge, and optimise their general-purpose cloud to support the missions of the DOD, intelligence community and US Coast Guard."
In addition to this, the contract specifies that Microsoft will carry out work around the globe.