Amazon Web Services has announced the introduction of the AWS Modular Data Center following on from the US DoD’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract. Due to the nature of the system, and the contract, the AWS Modular Data Center is only available to US Government customers.

The JWCC contract is a “multi-vendor acquisition vehicle designed to make cloud services and capabilities available at all classification levels and across all security domains, from the enterprise to the tactical edge”. Essentially, a service to provide classified data across all domains from meager office paperwork to battlespace information used by Special Forces. The benefit of the AWS Modular Data Center specifically is that it will “enable the DoD to deploy self-contained data centers with built-in AWS infrastructure to locations with limited infrastructure”. Need a secure way to provide classified data services, tomorrow, in an environment where only electrical power is available – say, in the middle of a desert using solar panels? Amazon Web Services has you covered. The self-contained storage vessels can be transported using a truck, train, boat, or military cargo plane and include internal networking, cooling, and power distribution equipment. The AWS Modular Data Center is even designed to operate in Disconnected, Disrupted, Intermittent, or Limited (DDIL) environments.

“The DoD relies on modern military applications that are data-heavy and depend on low latency to enable critical communications and coordination in the field. Accessing, processing, and sharing data at the tactical edge has become increasingly essential to mission success.”

Information provided by: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/publicsector/announcing-aws-modular-data-center-u-s-department-defense-joint-warfighting-cloud-capability/