Pentagon preps $8 billion cloud contract that’s not JEDI

The Department of Defense’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud acquisition has captivated the federal IT contracting community of late. Meanwhile, another multibillion-dollar Pentagon cloud contract has sneaked in under the radar.

The DOD wants to bring its enterprise communication, collaboration and productivity applications into the 21st century with a proposed cloud acquisition worth up to $8 billion.

The Defense Information Systems Agency released a draft request for proposals Tuesday for the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions — “a seamlessly integrated, enterprise [cloud service offering] as a replacement for disparate DoD legacy enterprise information technology (IT) services, such as voice, video, collaboration, email, content management, records management, and office productivity.” The also billion-dollar JEDI differs from DEOS in that it will be used to process the entirety of the department’s data, information and applications, from the Pentagon to the mission-critical battlefront.

The DEOS acquisition supports Pentagon’s vision for the Joint Information Environment, which looks to bring the department’s many networks into a single, integrated network.

“DEOS will unify and modernize legacy DISA IT enterprise services such as DoD Enterprise Email (DEE), DoD Enterprise Portal Service (DEPS), Defense Collaboration Services (DCS), and other disparate DoD-wide legacy enterprise collaboration, voice/video, and productivity capabilities,” the draft says.

DISA estimates the single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract will support about 3.15 million DOD personnel on both the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) and the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) — the latter of which would require a cloud provider authorized to hold DOD’s secret information.

It has a five-year base ordering period, which will be followed by five one-year options.

According to the RFP, DISA will look to leverage commercial cloud where it can domestically. But at locations outside of the U.S. and its territories, “the contractor will be required to implement a NIPRNet and SIPRNet CSO within a DoD data centers.” The contractor will be required to “to provide a stand-alone environment within a DoD data center that includes, the required infrastructure, hardware, software, and any other additional components required to implement, management, and maintain the CSO environments,” while DOD will provide the data centers.

“As the warfighter and the Department of Defense move forward in enabling commercial technology and the adoption of cloud technology, we look to streamline, create efficiencies and effectiveness throughout the department in a cost-saving manner,” DEOS program manager Kristen Brown said in a video about the program. “So the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions will create that JIE environment and collaboration across multiple mission owners at the local base, post, camp and stations.”

This contract comes as the Defense Department looks to plot the path toward another enterprisewide commercial cloud contract in JEDI. That program has drawn hefty criticism for the department’s decision to, as with DEOS, make it a single award. Whereas DISA is leading the DEOS effort, the JEDI program falls under a steering group in the Office of the Secretary of Defense headed by new Chief Management Officer Jay Gibson.

Though DOD hasn’t made it immediately clear how the landmark JEDI cloud will work with existing and forthcoming cloud programs, the department has say it will be complementary and “not preclude the release of future contracting actions.”

Across the Department of Defense, there are something like 500 cloud systems existing or under development, officials have said.

Interested vendors have until May 7 to submit comments on the DEOS draft RFP.