Department of Defense sides with Microsoft in upholding the JEDI deal

Nearly six months ago, the Department of Defense shocked observers by granting Microsoft the coveted $10 billion JEDI cloud contract. The other favorite, Amazon, then launched a lawsuit, claiming that President Trump had improperly influenced the awarding of the contract. However, in a new internal investigation issued as a report this week, the DoD Inspector General found that the process "was consistent with applicable law and acquisition standards," while also acknowledging that the White House prevented the investigation from interviewing all the DoD witnesses it wanted.

Microsoft hailed the Inspector General's findings, which reaffirm its win in the hard-fought contracting battle. For over a year leading up to the decision, Amazon was taken for granted as the front-runner with a footprint of FedRAMP High certified services even larger than Microsoft's. At the time however, things became political with swirling accusations of undue influence by Amazon. Microsoft deputy general counsel Jon Palmer wrote: