The Department of Defense (DoD) and the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the award of the 10-year, $7.6 billion Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract to CSRA (now known as General Dynamics IT), setting the stage for the department to modernize its existing office applications and move them to the cloud.
“DEOS will streamline our use of cloud email and collaborative tools while enhancing cybersecurity and information sharing based on standardized needs and market offerings,” said DoD CIO Dana Deasy.
Deasy highlighted the large cloud contract as an example of a fit-for-purpose cloud within the Pentagon’s multi-cloud strategy, and said that that DEOS’ implementation will build off of pilots for cloud-based capabilities.
“The journey to the cloud has been, and will continue to be, an iterative learning process,” he said.
The contract – a five-year base contract with five option years and an estimated value of $7.6 billion – will replace both legacy office applications and existing unified capabilities efforts. Cloud capabilities will run on both unclassified and classified networks, and DoD leaders highlighted the need for cloud connections in contested environments.
“The Marine Corps looks forward to the promise and substantial benefits that DEOS presents with its capabilities. We are hopeful that it will supply the ability to operate within the disconnected, degraded, intermittent and low bandwidth environments that are anticipated in 21st century conflicts,” said Kenneth Bible, deputy director of the Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4) Department Headquarters within the Marine Corps.
The contract uses GSA’s IT Schedule 70 contract, an effort aimed at reducing costs, ensuring quicker acquisition, and leveraging existing tools.
“DEOS demonstrates our shared commitment to maximizing the buying power of the entire federal government,” said GSA Administrator Emily Murphy.