El Ej\u00e9rcito de EE.UU. est\u00e1 implementando Google Workspace para soldados nuevos y veteranos, meses despu\u00e9s de que el servicio comenzara a probar silenciosamente el paquete de software como una posible soluci\u00f3n a problemas anteriores de tecnolog\u00edas de la informaci\u00f3n. Las nuevas tropas que ingresan al ej\u00e9rcito ahora reciben autom\u00e1ticamente cuentas de\u00a0Google Workspace\u00a0con una direcci\u00f3n @usa.army.mil.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army is rolling out Google Workspace for soldiers new and old, months after the service quietly began testing the software suite as a potential solution to previous information technologies issues.<\/p>\n
Army Chief Information Officer Raj Iyer\u00a0in a social media post<\/a>\u00a0this week said \u201cArmy Google Workspace is now operational and live,\u201d adding that the service \u201cimplemented the first Impact Level 4 Google Workspace in the Federal Government to process Controlled Unclassified Information.\u201d<\/p>\n C4ISRNET and Army Times first reported the testing and the Army\u2019s intent to deploy Google as a solution for a shortfall of Microsoft 365 licenses that could have left thousands of troops without access to email or other collaboration tools.<\/p>\n Google in July announced\u00a0its Workspace package achieved IL4 authorization<\/a>, a security requirement tied to the handling of critical infrastructure, defense, intelligence, finance and proprietary business information. It achieved FedRAMP High authorization months prior.<\/p>\n Such credentials made the Army deal possible.<\/p>\n According to Iyer, new troops entering the Army now automatically receive\u00a0Google Workspace<\/a>\u00a0accounts with an @usa.army.mil address. He confirmed that \u201call remaining users\u201d from the legacy email platform \u2014 known as Defense Enterprise Email \u2014 \u201cwill be transitioned to Army Google Workspace over the next several days.\u201d<\/p>\n Up to 250,000 troops will receive the new service, Google officials confirmed in a blog post. The number aligns with the shortage of Microsoft 365 licenses that Army Times previously identified.<\/p>\n Google Workspace is already used by the Air Force Research Laboratory and various other federal entities. The\u00a0Army Software Factory<\/a>\u00a0was also an early adopter; now, they\u2019ll be permanent Google users.<\/p>\n Beta testing<\/strong><\/p>\n The launch of Workspace for the Army at large follows months of evaluation behind the scenes.<\/p>\n The platform was initially considered a front-runner for troops who may have lost access to official email accounts amid a choppy transition from\u00a0Defense Enterprise Email<\/a>\u00a0and its mail.mil addresses to the newer Army 365 system, involving Microsoft products. Army 365 includes Army.mil email, but the service decided not all soldiers required them.<\/p>\n Iyer in July told C4ISRNET and Army Times the service \u201cis committed to providing our Soldiers the communications and collaboration capabilities they need to perform their missions. The CIO added that more information was to come.<\/p>\n Lt. Gen. John Morrison, the Army\u2019s top uniformed IT official, a month later\u00a0confirmed a pilot was underway<\/a>\u00a0and that senior leaders would decide on the next steps \u201cover the next several weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got champions that are in that environment. We are learning about it,\u201d Morrison told reporters on the sidelines of the AFCEA TechNet Augusta conference. \u201cWe are getting all the tactics, techniques and procedures that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0size and makeup of the pilot<\/a>\u00a0was not disclosed. Officials were tight lipped about details over the summer, citing the effort\u2019s intricacies and infancy.<\/p>\n Bigger business<\/strong><\/p>\n The rollout also marks a significant win for Google, which unveiled its public sector division in June and competes with fellow behemoth Microsoft inside and outside the defense world.<\/p>\n Microsoft has long worked with the Pentagon, supplying services and products ranging from cloud computing to the HoloLens, a foundation for the Army\u2019s\u00a0futuristic Integrated Visual Augmentation System<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both are now operating under the same roof, furnishing similar software.<\/p>\n Google and Microsoft are also in competition for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability, the follow-up to the failed\u00a0Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure<\/a>, or JEDI, venture.<\/p>\n The Defense Department contacted the two, as well as Amazon and Oracle, about the $9 billion opportunity last year. Proposals are now under review. An award is expected in December, after an April deadline was missed and deemed overly ambitious.<\/p>\n Initial JWCC contracts will comprise\u00a0a three-year base with one-year options<\/a>. A full and open competition for a future multi-cloud, multi-vendor environment will likely follow.<\/p>\n