Pentagon Says Cloud Computing, US Technology Grants Competitive Edge Over China

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2022) The US Defense Department's new contract vehicle for commercial cloud capabilities and other technological innovations is what grants the United States an edge over strategic competitors like China, Pentagon Chief Information Officer John Sherman said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Defense Department announced Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contracts to Amazon, Google, microsoft and Oracle to enable the acquisition of commercial cloud capabilities at all classification levels.

"As we look at our pacing challenge of China, I've said this often, that our American industry, technology and the digital space is really what gives us a leg up," Sherman said during a press briefing. "To be able to make calculations and be able to live, and accel, and maneuver and fight and win in a digital environment, that's what this cloud computing provides."

The Indefinite-Deliver, Indefinite-Quantity contract vehicle offers commercial pricing, or better, and streamlined provisioning of cloud services, according to a Pentagon press release.

The multi-billion Dollar initiative guarantees each of the providers at least $100,000, although they will have to compete for task orders, the Pentagon said.