Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have been swatting at each other over a $600 million contract, according to ZDNet. The contract in question is over the powering of the CIA’s secret cloud project. Amazon was originally given the contract straight out, prompting IBM to make a complaint through the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO ruled in IBM’s favor, and the CIA therefore was forced to reopen the contract bidding.
Amazon then hit back in kind, taking the issue to a U.S. court where a federal judge stuck down IBM’s objection — after which IBM simply withdrew its complaint. According to Bloomberg, IBM has a far longer history with federal contracts, with $1.5 billion in awards in 2012′s fiscal year. Amazon, in contrast, just set up its government sales division a few years ago — though already over 300 U.S. agencies are using its services, said Teresa Carlson, Amazon’s vice president in May. read more.
