Cybersecurity

Microsoft says it wins lucrative cloud deal with intelligence community

Microsoft said it has secured a lucrative cloud deal with the intelligence community that marks a rapid expansion by the software giant into a market led by Amazon.

The deal, which the company said Wednesday is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, allows 17 intelligence agencies and offices to use Microsoft’s Azure Government, a cloud service tailored for federal and local governments, in addition to other products Microsoft already offers, such as its Windows 10 operating system and word-processing programs.

The cloud agreement gives Microsoft more power to make its case to the Pentagon as it goes up against competitors like IBM, Oracle and Amazon for the agency’s winner-take-all cloud-computing contract. Amazon Web Services, the leading cloud provider, is widely perceived to be the front-runner for the job, which is expected to amount to billions of dollars over what could be a 10-year contract.