Nov 14, 2019

Amazon to challenge its loss of a $10B defense contract

Margaret Harding McGill

Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images

Amazon Web Services told the government it intends to fight the Defense Department's decision last month to award a gigantic cloud computing contract to Microsoft, a spokesperson said Thursday.

Why it matters: The politics surrounding the decision made it almost certain Amazon would challenge it, opening up the latest front in the long-running fight over the massive JEDI contract, worth up to $10 billion.

Driving the news: AWS CEO Andy Jassy told employees about the company's plan to fight the contract award at a company meeting, per the Federal Times.

  • AWS believes government procurements should be done "objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence,"a spokesperson said in a statement.
"Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias — and it’s important that these matters be examined and rectified."
— AWS spokesperson

Go deeper

Fadel Allassan

Amazon to use Trump comments in challenge to $10B contract awarded to Microsoft

Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Amazon is citing comments made by President Trump in the company's legal challenge to the Defense Department for granting a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture: Amazon is suing the Pentagon, claiming the decision to hand Microsoft the contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project in late October was influenced by Trump, who has repeatedly and publicly taken shots at Amazon. A company spokesperson has said an "unmistakable bias" affected the Pentagon's decision-making process, per the Post.

Go deeperArrowNov 23, 2019
Erica Pandey

Amazon claims Trump improperly pressured Pentagon to deny cloud contract

Jeff Bezos. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Amazon

Amazon Web Services — which is suing the Pentagon after it selected Microsoft for a massive cloud computing contract — has filed a complaint alleging that President Trump pressured the agency to keep the $10 billion JEDI contract from Amazon and Jeff Bezos.

The big picture: The contract has become a flash point between Amazon and Trump, who has singled out the tech giant and mentioned the JEDI contract in tweets and private conversations. The complaint alleges that Trump “launched repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks" to steer the contract away from "his perceived political enemy," Jeff Bezos.

Go deeperArrowDec 9, 2019
Fadel Allassan

Bill Gates tops Jeff Bezos as richest person in the world

Bill Gates. Photo: Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times

Microsoft's Bill Gates topped Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world for the first time in two years on Friday, Bloomberg reports.

Driving the news: The Pentagon's recently announced decision to grant a $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft ahead of Amazon may have played a part in the news, according to Bloomberg.

Go deeperArrowNov 16, 2019