Consequences Of Delaying The DEOS Cloud (From RealClearDefense)

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO) is on a mission to consolidate most of the Pentagon’s IT systems and services through a series of large and far-reaching cloud computing contracts. The goal is to improve information sharing and empower the warfighter. One of the most critical contracts, the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS), awarded last August, has already been delayed for over a year due to repeated protests and the government’s decision to take corrective action. DEOS is intended to facilitate collaboration and the flow of information for DoD’s 3.5 million uniformed personnel and civilians. The longer DoD is prevented from getting DEOS started, the worse it is for them. A decision is needed at the highest levels in the Pentagon now on a way forward for DEOS. I have written a commentary on the problems getting DEOS awarded here.