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Microsoft Scores Government Successes with Services & Security

Microsoft achieves two big successes this week with the U.S. government as they are awarded a five year services contract and receive certification for their mobile Outlook app on iOS and Android to be used by government workers. We also have more about moving to a modern desktop from Windows 7, OneDrive Files On-Demand for Mac, and a bump in prices for two of Google's G Suite plans.

This week Microsoft received two pieces of good news on the government front.

First up is the awarding of a multi-year contract that provides Microsoft Enterprise Services for the Department of Defense (DoD), Coast Guard, and intelligence community. The contract, worth an estimated $1.76 billion dollars, will provide product engineering services for software developers and product teams for various proprietary resources and source-code. In addition, Microsoft will provide these agencies premier support for tools, knowledge database, problem resolution assistance, and custom changes to Microsoft source-code when applicable. This is a global contract for five years and is in effect until January 10, 2024.

Microsoft should be able to help the DoD modernize its computer services and capabilities by not only providing these enterprise services but also helping the organization move some of its software forward with better compatibility with Windows 10. Since the clock is ticking towards the end of lifecycle support for Windows 7, this type of work over the next 12 months of that support is critical.

The second achievement for Microsoft with the U.S. government this week was the certification that the companies Outlook Mobile app on iOS and Android now meets the strict security and compliance requirements for use by government personnel. This is a result of work Microsoft accomplished to update the mobile apps architecture which uses a new native Microsoft sync technology that reduced latency, provided access to S/MIME to enable email encryption/decryption by users as they use the app.

As the U.S. government workforce continues to become more mobile, having this level of access to critical email using a smartphone provides increased productivity and connectivity in most work and travel situations. 

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As we highlighted earlier this week, there is just one year left before support for Windows 7 will end. Microsoft wants to help customers make the shift to a modern desktop by providing tools and services to help with their migrations. Included among these tools are Desktop App Assure for app compatibility assistance and device co-management using Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune.

The previously announced OneDrive Files On-Demand for Mac users is now generally available. This highly requested feature enables Mac users to dynamically manage what files are stored locally or in the cloud to help manage the availability of local storage. The will be on by default for users on macOS Mojave.

Google is raising the per user prices for their G Suite Basic and Business editions of the companies suite of productivity software and services. G Suite Basic Edition subscribers will see an increase from $5 to $6 per user while the G Suite Business Edition increases from $10 to $12 per user. The new prices go into effect on April 2, 2019. 

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