JEDI Cloud Deadline Extended Again As Pentagon Requests Hand-Delivered Bids

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The U.S. Department of Defense has once again pushed back the deadline date for bids for the multi-billion-dollar Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract in which the world's largest tech companies are vying to win. But this time, the federal agency has added a new rule.

Bidding companies are now being required to deliver their proposals in-person.

“In lieu of electronic submission, an offeror’s entire proposal shall be captured on one or more DVDs and submitted in person only. No other forms of submission will be accepted,” the department said on Monday in an amendment to the JEDI Request For Proposals (RFPs).

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Along with the addendum, the Defense Department pushed the Oct.9 deadline back. Bidders now must contact JEDI procurement officials by 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 10 to receive logistical details for handing in their proposals in-person on Oct. 12.

This marks the second time that the Pentagon has pushed back its bidding deadline for its JEDI cloud contract. The original deadline for bids, announced in August, was Sept 17. The September deadline was pushed to October to give potential contractors more time to address technical requirements updated near the end of August, the department said at the time.

The JEDI contract, which was opened for bids in July, has been a point of contention for many large tech companies attempting to be considered.

Oracle in August filed a protest challenging the winner-take-all nature of the contract with the Government Accountability Office. Oracle also led a coalition of tech companies, including Microsoft, IBM, Dell Technologies, and HPE, which also are opposed to the contract. The coalition believes that awarding one company could create vendor lock in and security issues.

Oracle also has loudly voiced concerns that the technical specifications have been engineered to in favor of cloud giant Amazon Web Services.