Oracle has filed a protest with the US Department of Defense over its plans to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract to a single technology company, Reuters reported.
The US IT industry is expecting that Amazon Web Services (AWS) would be the front runner to bag the $10 billion Cloud deal from Pentagon. Amazon Web Services is the only company the US government has approved to handle secret and top secret data.
Other companies expected to compete include Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Alphabet Inc’s Google.
The Defense Department opened the competition in July and said a single winner would allow for the adoption of the Cloud technology. It said the deal’s initial two-year period would provide time to ensure the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract was up to standards, and that new contractors would be needed for other cloud computing demands in the future.
Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger said in a statement on Tuesday that the single award assured that the Department of Defense would be locked in a contract with a legacy cloud provider for a decade or longer.
Oracle said that approach was “contrary to industry’s multi-cloud strategy, which promotes constant competition, fosters innovation and lowers prices.”
The Government Accountability Office has until Nov. 14 to respond to the protest. Bids are to be accepted through September.
