In October 2019, the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) awarded a controversial contract to Microsoft.  

• As part of the deal, the Windows-maker would set up large cloud-computing systems for the Pentagon.  
• The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, project was worth about $10 billion to Microsoft over a decade.  

• The deal was a huge setback for another top bidder – – Amazon Inc – – which disputed the award saying that the Pentagon unfairly evaluated its cloud service and Microsoft’s proposals.  
• It also noted that the former U.S. president Donald Trump’s criticism of Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos had influenced Pentagon’s decision.  
• Trump had earlier criticised Bezos for coverage of his administration in the Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos.   
• The award was fraught with conflict-of-interest allegations and legal challenges for the Pentagon and Microsoft. 
• Some Pentagon officials raised concerns over contracting with just one single-source vendor for a military unit.  

• In January, the Pentagon said in a statement that “regardless of the JEDI Cloud litigation outcome, the Department [DoD] continues to have an urgent, unmet requirement for enterprise-wide, commercial cloud service.” 

Source: The Hindu