milCloud 2.0 upgraded with commercial cloud infrastructure
Almost half a billion dollars allotted for commercial cloud infrastructure within DISA milCloud.
The Department of Defense (DOD) milCloud 2.0 Phase 1 will add service reliability, speed, and storage flexibility through the integration of commercial infrastructure services under the newly awarded $498 million contract to CSRA.
According to the DOD solicitation, CSRA is tasked with both the software programming and engineering aspects of implementing their commercial cloud infrastructure to support the private networks and software applications of milCloud 2.0.
The contract provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platforms as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS).
The commercial restructuring of milCloud 2.0 infrastructure is part of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)’s larger project of expanding the DOD Information Network (DODIN), a virtual synthesis hub of information technology and data collection processing, sharing, and storage networks and software previously reported on by Defense Systems. According to DISA’s, CSRA’s contribution will bring DISA closer to realizing its goal of eventually having the DODIN be the focal point of commercial SaaS cloud, commercial IaaS cloud providers, DOD Data Centers, and milCloud 2.0 host centers,
MilCloud 2.0 is the primary DOD private cloud infrastructure, constructed by using commercial-off-the-shelf designs and software. It was built to provide on-demand access to various software services and a space for resources and storage all from within DOD data centers using their infrastructure.
Even with its commercial infrastructure upgrades, milCloud 2.0 will still be a private cloud infrastructure, constructed of virtual resources, such as software applications or data storage, that are privately shared within a select group of people via internet, fiber and private networks.
CSRA was one of five corporations to bid for the contract, which will be awarded in increments of one-year performance periods over a span of five years. Work is expected to be complete by June of 2020.