Microsoft wins $927m tech support deal with US military

21 Dec 2016

This is the latest in a series of key deals that Microsoft has won with the US military. Image: Militarist/Shutterstock

Microsoft has secured a massive $927m contract to provide technical support and consultation to the United States Department of Defense.

This is the latest in a series of key deals that Microsoft has won with the US military.

The contract comes after the software giant Microsoft secured a deal in February 2016 with the Department of Defense (DoD) to bring Windows 10 to all 4m of its employees within a 12-month timeframe.

This was the largest enterprise deal for Microsoft in the company’s history.

In 2013, Microsoft signed a similar deal to bring Windows 8 to 75pc of all DoD employees.

Combat support network

Specifically, Microsoft will be providing tech support to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), according to Reuters.

DISA is a combat support agency of the DoD and it provides a secure cloud environment for military in the field, as well as the White House and Pentagon.

DISA has also approved Microsoft Azure Government, a specialised cloud platform for managing controlled, classified and unclassified information.

According to the DISA page on the Microsoft portal, “it provides an enterprise information infrastructure, communications support, and a secure, resilient enterprise cloud environment for the DoD, the White House, and any other organisation that plays a role in the defence of the United States.”

US military badges. Image: Militarist/Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com