Pentagon splits $9 billion cloud contract among 4 companiesWASHINGTON (AP) — Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon will share in the Pentagon’s $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network, a year after accusations of politicization over the previously announced contract and a protracted legal battle resulted in the military starting over in its award process.It is anticipated to serve as a backbone for the Pentagon’s modern war operations, which will rely heavily on unmanned aircraft and space communications satellites, but will still need a way to quickly get the intelligence from those platforms to troops on the ground.It says significant accolades about what they think about that vendor, and that’s the best reference customer you could have in that world.”Last July, the Pentagon announced it was cancelling its previous cloud computing award, then named JEDI.A report by the Pentagon’s inspector general did not find evidence of improper influence, but it said it could not determine the extent of administration interactions with Pentagon decision-makers because the White House would not allow unfettered access to witnesses.Forrester analyst Devin Dickerson said awarding the contract to four companies instead of one shows a “multicloud strategy” that could improve the Pentagon’s bargaining position with major cloud providers and make it easier for individual offices within the Defense Department to acquire cloud technologies and services."