DISA Plans To Tap Seven to 10 Vendors for Commercial Cloud Buy

Officials nixed the use of offshore storage.

The Defense Information Systems Agency plans to award seven to 10 contracts for its $450 million commercial cloud buy announced June, according to responses to questions from vendors the agency posted yesterday.

DISA said it would consider offers that include a mix of public clouds -- storage open to anyone -- or private clouds dedicated to its use. Officials wisely nixed the use of cloud storage outside the United States.

The agency also said it would consider the use of a commercial cloud designed to support a diverse group of mobile smartphones and tablets.

DISA plans to release the final commercial cloud RFP on Aug. 26.