DISA mulls adding vendors, different contract types for JWCC 2.0

The Defense Information Systems Agency is looking to include more cloud service providers and possibly introduce new contracting mechanisms into the next iteration of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC), according to the agency’s leader.

In December 2022, the Pentagon awarded Google, Oracle, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft contracts spots on the $9 billion JWCC program — an effort that pivoted away from contracting a single vendor for the department’s first enterprise cloud capability under the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), and instead sought a multi-vendor acquisition approach. 

Since then, the department has awarded over $1 billion worth of task orders to vendors on the program, DISA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner said Wednesday. Speaking during a keynote speech at the annual Department of the Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower conference, Skinner noted the agency is now looking at how to build upon the initial program for its next phase, dubbed JWCC 2.0.

“What I would offer is, what it’s going to bring is even faster commercial cloud capability, greater diversity — where we can hope that we can have even more cloud services providers — and potentially have an option of not having task orders competed,” Skinner said. He did not elaborate on how many additional vendors DISA is considering adding to the program.

Under the current contracting mechanism for JWCC, the four cloud service providers are able to bid on task orders from various Defense Department components. The contract vehicle allows the department to buy commercial cloud capabilities that best fit customers’ needs directly from the service providers.

Skinner noted that moving forward, future JWCC iterations could include both task order competitions as well as a potential indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle as a way to provide “greater diversity and flexibility for the capability that we know we all need and are driving for.”

IDIQ contracts allow the Pentagon to purchase an unspecified amount of products or services under a specific timeframe, enabling the ability to place orders as needed up to a defined maximum amount specified in the initial contract.

DISA has not given a clear timeline on when the requirements for JWCC 2.0 will be released. Former DOD Chief Information Officer John Sherman previously told DefenseScoop that he directed his office to conduct an after-action review of the entire JWCC effort prior to his departure in June.

“While I’m a huge fan of it, I know it’s not perfect,” he said. “What can we do better for JWCC 2.0? Are there things we can put into place to make [software-as-a-service] offerings easier to manage?”