The U.S. Department of Defense has canceled a cloud computing contract that was somewhat controversially awarded to Microsoft under the Trump administration (thanks, CNN). Yes, I haven't thought about that guy in about 5 months.

The controversy was basically because people who knew what they were talking about felt they should have ordered from Amazon. The contract was for an ultra-secure cloud storage system for U.S. military data and technology, worth up to $10 billion over 10 years, and Amazon Web Services is widely regarded as the best option in the cloud computing industry.

This was named the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, similar to the JEDI contract. It is good to have an adult running this sort of thing, and I think it suits the Space Command, because it is a good way for the Space Command to get more information about the space program, and to get a better understanding of how the space program works.

Amazon believed the contract was awarded to Microsoft because Donald Trump dislikes then Amazon Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos (or the Bezos-owned Washington Post). Trump has stated that he would take a "strong look" at the contract before it was awarded to Microsoft, and there has been no shortage of other public comments disparaging Amazon and Bezos.

Amazon therefore challenged the decision in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, accusing the former U.S. president of "repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks" on the company and asking him to testify about how the contract was signed.

I like this passage from Amazon's February 2020 court filing: "President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to use his position as President and Commander in Chief to interfere with government functions, including federal procurement, to further his personal agenda. He has also Maintaining public confidence in the nation's procurement process requires disclosure and supplementation of the executive record, especially in light of President Trump's 'Screw Amazon' order. The question is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the Department of Defense budget to pursue his personal and political ends."

In March 2020, the Pentagon said it would reevaluate this decision.

Upon re-evaluation, it was clear this was not the cloud computing contract they were seeking. In a press release, the DoD stated that it decided to cancel this contract because of "evolving requirements, increased cloud maintainability, and industry advances" and that JEDI "no longer meets their needs."

Microsoft accepted the decision on its blog, defended its technology, said it was better to start over than spend years in court, and took Amazon to task a bit.

The response includes an incredible passage: "Twenty months after the Department of Defense selected Microsoft as its JEDI partner, it has highlighted an issue that should be brought to the attention of policymakers.

Amazon, for its part, agreed with the decision and reiterated the company's position that the contract was originally entered into "as a result of external influences not appropriate for government procurement." Don't mess with Jeff."

The Pentagon will now solicit proposals from Microsoft, Amazon, and other cloud providers that "meet DoD requirements.