The DoD Enterprise Software Initiative is in action! The US Department of Defense has announced that it is giving six solution providers a contract for commercial Microsoft licenses and subscriptions.
These blanket purchase agreements will see DoD handing out purchase orders spread out over 10 years.
From November 29, 2018 to November 27, 2028.
This blockbuster deal was done under the DoD’s Enterprise Software Initiative, under which requirements within the agency are pooled together in order to secure discounts from suppliers.
The DoD ESI was started by DoD chief information officers in 1998, with the intent of saving time and money on commercial software. Negotiated discounts of up to 86% off list prices have resulted in cost avoidance of over $3 billion.
895 vendors pitched for the cash this time around — only 6 made the cut.
The official lineup reveals the Microsoft resellers that walked away with contracts, with names like CDWG Government, Dell Federal Systems, GovConnection, Insight Public Sector, Minburn Technology Group and SHI International.
They will now provision commercial off-the-shelf products that meet the functional requirements for desktop software solutions, operating systems, virtualization, management tools, mobility, and software assurance.
The contracts are worth an overall estimated value of $3.17 billion, and will be used for worldwide activities of the Department of Defense, the US intelligence community, as well as the US Coast Guard.
The DoD is quick to note that this agreement does not obligate funds at the time of award.
But good news for Microsoft nevertheless, on the enterprise front.
