Microsoft has been awarded a $927 million contract to provide specialized tech support to the Department of Defense"s (DoD) internal Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). In February, the DoD announced that it would upgrade its four million devices to Windows 10 within the year and certified the Microsoft"s Surface line of devices for departmental use.
Official DoD documentation states that the agreement is "non-competitive, firm-fixed price, single award, [and] indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity." Per the contract, Microsoft Enterprise Technical Support Services will provide highly-trained Microsoft Blue Badge Cardholder support at the DoD’s request.
The excerpt below describes the details of the arrangement.
"The core requirements are for the contractor to provide Microsoft consulting services that include software developers and product teams to leverage a variety of proprietary resources and source code, and Microsoft premier support services such as tools and knowledge bases, problem resolution assistance from product developers, and access to Microsoft source code when applicable to support Department of Defense"s mission."
In response to confusion over access to Microsoft"s source code, Ars Technica reported that this would be limited to Microsoft"s own employees. A DISA spokesperson later clarified that "The Department of Defense does not, and will not, have access to Microsoft"s proprietary source codes."
The document goes on to say that while the support will predominantly be provided stateside, services may be required “outside the continental US.”
Source: Business Insider via Department of Defense