Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, Oct. 4, 2018
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a transformational $30+M agreement to Microsoft to provide secure network access to DoD data and applications as well as enable access for mobile and remotely located users. Microsoft has a longstanding 30-year partnership with the DoD and this other transaction agreement (OTA) with the U.S. Air Force enables experimentation towards transformation to network-as-a-service for IT operations, including support to the department’s mission-critical workloads.
The U.S. Air Force’s mission is to fly, fight and win in air, space, and cyberspace. This project enables the Air Force to accelerate technological transformation while empowering the workforce with the latest in cloud innovation to increase efficiency and optimize operations. The experiment is initially focused on commercial data and network access at Hurlburt Field, Florida; Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; and Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by 2021. As part of this experiment, Microsoft will work with its partners to modernize Air Force networks to enable the full spectrum of data and communications.
Microsoft networking capabilities include newly announced ExpressRoute 100Gbps and ExpressRoute Global Reach, enabling customers to connect their on-premises networks via the ExpressRoute service through Microsoft's global network. Customers working with advanced cloud services like analytics and with large demands on data transfer, can benefit from the speed and efficiency of higher bandwidth solutions, intelligent traffic routing, and operating at a global scale.
ExpressRoute 100Gbps is breaking the barrier in cloud connectivity to serve extreme bandwidth needs of up to 10x faster than what was previously available. ExpressRoute Global Reach connects ExpressRoute circuits together in the US as well as many other geographies and will steadily grow to work across 50+regions providing comprehensive networking services that are easy to deploy, manage, scale and monitor while providing optimal application performance delivery.
Microsoft provides the trusted cloud for defense customers, and recently announced solutions for firewall, DDoS protection, and more to continue to raise the bar for a sophisticated security and threat protection foundation. Along with the performance, availability and resiliency strengths of the global network, advanced monitoring services provide visibility into the analytics, security and operations of networks, enabling accurate health checking and better optimizations.
Microsoft remains committed to helping government customers securely connect to the cloud, delivering a great experience while protecting critical workloads and providing extensive monitoring to drive efficiency and security.