image courtesy of Getty Images A multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract with the Pentagon has been canceled, igniting a feud between Microsoft and Amazon. Due to the “changing technical landscape,” the $10 billion deal no longer fulfilled the US Department of Defense’s current demands, according to the Pentagon. The contract was granted to Microsoft, but Amazon claimed that President Trump had swayed the decision. Both Amazon and Microsoft will be able to compete for a new deal. After Microsoft secured the multibillion-dollar Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (Jedi) contract, it sparked criticism and a legal challenge from Amazon, which claimed the decision was politically influenced. “With the shifting technology landscape, it has become evident that the Jedi Cloud contract, which has been long delayed, no longer fits the requirements to satisfy the DoD’s capability gaps,” the Department of Defense (DoD) said in a statement on Tuesday. It went on to say that it will solicit new bids “from a restricted number of suppliers,” which included Amazon and Microsoft. The Pentagon is reconsidering the $10 billion cloud contract with the Jedi Order. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is stepping down. It stated the two tech behemoths are the only corporations capable of meeting the brief, though it would consider other firms. The Jedi system was intended to replace the Department of Defense’s aging computer networks with a single cloud system that would have housed sensitive information and enabled military analysts with artificial intelligence-based analysis. However, after Microsoft was granted the project in 2019, Amazon, which was considered the frontrunner for the job, filed a court challenge to oppose. A lot was said in the Pentagon press statement. It discussed how technology has “evolved,” “cloud conservancy,” and “advancements” in the sector. However, it left out one key detail: Amazon had accused Donald Trump of exerting undue influence on the decision. Former President Barack Obama has made no secret of his dislike for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Mr Trump referred to the Washington Post (which Mr Bezos owns) as the “Amazon Washington Post,” and referred to him as “Jeff Bezo” in tweets. Many observers thought Amazon had a good chance of winning a large government cloud computing deal. They did not, however, secure the contract. Since then, Amazon has claimed that Mr Trump exerted undue influence over the procurement process. Amazon had been suing the Pentagon for a long time, and it’s likely that this had a role in the decision. “It’s evident the DoD trusts Microsoft and our technology,” Microsoft said in a statement on Tuesday. “We’re sure that we’ll continue to be successful as the DoD picks partners for new work.” Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC. United States of America Amazon Microsoft/n
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