Phoenix Barker – Dating back to 2017, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) began to undertake steps to keep up with the changing character of war in the age of technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Specifically, one of the steps assumed by the DoD was to expedite the adoption of cloud computing technologies. Patrick Shanahan, now acting Secretary of Defense and former Deputy Secretary of Defense, played a prominent role; his push towards departmentwide cloud computing platforms “culminated . . . the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure acquisition”—known as JEDI. It is a project to build a cloud computing system that serves U.S. forces from all over the world.
JEDI is a massive undertaking; the cloud contract is a $10 billion dollar one-vendor deal, spanning a period of ten years. Of course, the government procurement contract is a sign of the times—“a prime example of the kind of technology driving change . . . the Defense Department need[s] to embrace,” that provides better software to warfighters faster at lower cost and with better security. It comes as no surprise that many officials have been weary of assigning the JEDI contract to a single company. In fact, the tech companies bidding for the JEDI contract “oppose the Pentagon’s winner-take-all approach, [and have] argued that it will amplify security risks and lock the agency into a single technology provider for many years.” Tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle were disappointed with the DoD and its decision to stray from a multi-award cloud contract.
Sam Gordy, IBM Federal’s general manager put it this way: “The Pentagon would never limit the Air Force to flying only cargo planes for every mission. Locking the entire U.S. military into a single, restrictive cloud environment would be equally flawed.” Of course, there were some companies rooting for the single award approach, like Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), largely thought to be the forerunner in acquiring the JEDI contract. Oracle, one of the top contenders in the bid for JEDI, put its money where its mouth is and filed the first protest to the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). Oracle alleged that the request for proposals (“RFP”) issued by the DoD was contrary to statute and regulation, was excessive in terms of the agency’s needs, and that the DoD failed to properly consider potential conflicts of interest. To Oracle’s dismay and to Amazon’s pleasure, the protest was denied. Notably, the GAO determined a single-award approach was within the DoD’s statutory bounds because it was reasonably determined that it was within the government’s best interest. The GAO’s decision didn’t stop Oracle from turning to the judiciary to allege that the JEDI contract violates federal procurement laws.
In a lengthy complaint recently filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Oracle accused the DoD of drafting the RFP in a way that favors AWS. Furthermore, Oracle accused two DoD staff involved in shaping the JEDI contract of tainting the procurement process because of substantial ties with AWS. However, it is not entirely clear yet whether Oracle’s claim has teeth, as Amazon brushes off the accusations as meritless. As of now, one thing is commonplace: the pending litigation could delay the implementation of JEDI. Because the JEDI contract is vital “to the U.S. military’s ability to compete with China and Russia for technological superiority,” any delay is displeasing. For now, accessing the cloud “from the cockpit of an F-35 to a Pacific submarine or Army platoon in the most remote environments” remains a pipe dream. The DoD is set to choose the highest bidder in April, which is sure to disrupt old paradigms and unleash new opportunities in algorithmic warfare. For now, we wait.
