IBM to manage cloud data centre for US Army
IBM will build, manage and operate a large-scale, private cloud data centre for the US Army, located within its Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. This is the first time the Army has signed such a contract with a private company. IBM will also provide infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) services and is expected to gain the highest level of authorisation (IL-6) within a year, allowing the data company to work with information classified as "secret." The contract is part of a one-year task order, but IBM said the deal would be worth around $62m, if extended for four additional years.

US Army

IBM officially announced January 18 that it's signed a deal to build, manage and operate a private cloud data center for the US Army, within the Army's Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. The deal marks the first time the Army has turned to a private company to run a large-scale data center on its behalf within a military installation.

The on-premise private cloud initiative is part of a one-year task order. Under the Army Private Cloud 2 (APC2) contract, awarded to seven companies in 2011, the contract with IBM could be extended by as much as four additional years. Should it last the full five years, the contract will be worth approximately $62 million, IBM said.

In addition to building the infrastructure at the Army post, IBM will provide infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) services. The Army will also begin moving its applications to the private cloud, moving as many as 35 applications in the first year.

"With this project, we're beginning to bring the IT infrastructure of the U.S. Army into the 21 st century," Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell, US Army CIO, said in a statement. "Cloud computing is a game-changing architecture that provides improved performance with high efficiency, all in a secure environment."

Last year, IBM achieved Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Impact Level 5 (IL-5) Authorization, giving it the authority to manage controlled, unclassified information. The Army expects IBM to achieve the highest level of authorization (IL-6) within a year, which would certify IBM to work with information classified as "secret."

The new contract expands IBM's existing relationship with the Army. The military branch last year started using an IBM hybrid cloud for its Logistics Support Activity.

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