DLT Solutions has won a blanket purchase agreement contract to help the Defense Department and the U.S. Army implement Google‘s (NASDAQ: GOOG) cloud-based communication and collaboration applications under a program intended to expand mobile access in both organizations.
This BPA with the Army Contracting Command comprises of a base year and four option years and was awarded through the General Services Administration‘s Email-as-a-Service procurement vehicle, DLT said Tuesday.
The Army is also acquiring 50, 000 Office 365 licenses under a separate BPA awarded to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL).
Duane Thorpe, DLT manager of cloud solutions, said the company will work to provide federal agencies secure cloud email services under the BPA and aims to meet the Pentagon’s security controls.
In a blog post published Tuesday, Shannon Sullivan, head of defense and intelligence for Google Enterprise, wrote DLT will initially deploy Google Apps for 50, 000 DoD and Army personnel.
The Army intends to collaboration, information sharing and mobile access for its enterprise, Sullivan says.
“Many soldiers and Army personnel already use Google Apps in their personal lives, ” Sullivan wrote, adding soldiers review education materials in Google Drive and complete learning assignments with classmates in Google Docs.
Distance learning takes place via a video Hangout and users connect via tablets, smartphones and desktops according to Sullivan.
Google’s cloud computing services work to help users communicate in real time via emails, chats, presentations, calendars and spreadsheets.
DLT and Google intend for the applications to comply with the Pentagon’s authentication and directory requirements, Sullivan says.
