As part of the re-evaluation, the Pentagon wants to tweak the terms of the contract and let companies make limited revisions to their proposals. This could, for example, let Microsoft fix the aforementioned pricing snafu, or give AWS the opportunity to present a stronger bid. Indeed, the Pentagon’s re-evaluation specifically mentions a re-evaluation of cloud storage solution pricing. “We believe the Department of Defense made the correct decision when they awarded the contract. However, we support their decision to reconsider a small number of factors as it is likely the fastest way to resolve all issues and quickly provide the needed modern technology to people across our armed forces,” said Frank Shaw, CVP of communications at Microsoft. “Over two years the DoD reviewed dozens of factors and sub factors and found Microsoft equal or superior to AWS on every factor. We remain confident that Microsoft’s proposal was technologically superior, continues to offer the best value, and is the right choice for the DoD.” Should the Pentagon be awarded the extension, the delay of up to 120-days will be very significant and inconvenient for Microsoft. However, with the company banned from working on the contract until the dispute is settled, it could prove more attractive than a years-long legal battle.
