The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is ramping up the Pentagon’s push to allow users remote access to cloud-based Microsoft [MSFT] 365 solutions, migrating initial users to the new DoD365 environment this month and all Fourth Estate agencies and combatant commands by mid-June.
Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of DISA, told attendees during an online AFCEA NOVA discussion DoD365 will be enabled by the new multi-billion dollar Defense Office Enterprise Solutions (DEOS) cloud being built by General Dynamics Information Technology [GD].
“[DoD365] is a fit-for-purpose, cloud-based software-as-a-service solution that includes [Microsoft] Teams, Outlook, Office and OneDrive solution, and it will provide essentialized identity and authentication solutions,” Norton said.
The push for DoD365 follows the department’s rapid rollout of the Microsoft Teams-enabled Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR) environment to enable the massive amount of users teleworking as a result of the pandemic (Defense Daily, April 13).
DoD365 is intended to replace CVR as an enduring solution for cloud-based access to Microsoft 365 programs.
“The successes and lessons learned from collaborating to create CVR will shape the transition under the DEOS contract, that was awarded in October by GSA, to the DoD 365 environment serving the Fourth Estate,” Norton said.
Last fall, the Pentagon and General Services Administration re-awarded the 10-year, $4.4 billion contract DEOS contract to GDIT after the original contract was subject to a series of protests from Perspecta [PRSP] (Defense Daily, Oct. 30).
Norton noted while the DISA is working with the services on a common authentication solution and security standards for DoD365, each of the branches will be responsible for building and migrating to their own security tenant for the new solution.
“DISA is building out DoD365 under the DEOS contract. The DoD365 tenant is specifically designed to support the Fourth Estate [agencies]. Each of the services is building out their own tenant and those may or may not be under the DEOS contract. They have the choice of whether or not they’re going to use the DEOS contract,” Norton said.