The Israeli government has chosen AWS and Google Cloud to provide cloud services for the government and defense systems.
The Nimbus Project is the government’s initiative to construct a cloud infrastructure and migrate its operations to the cloud. According to The Jerusalem Post, AWS and Google won the bid over several of their biggest rivals.
The two IT giants will set up cloud-based data centers, as the first step in a plan to move much of the government’s IT infrastructure to the cloud, at an initial investment of NIS 4 billion. They beat out bids on the project from Microsoft, Oracle and IBM.
The contract is a big win for the first and third largest cloud providers. AWS, in particular, has a long history of providing cloud services for the US government. This was no doubt a factor, as the company is accustomed to working within governmental security concerns.
The Post’s source also believe AWS may have been chosen for the additional benefits it can bring to the Israeli economy, since opening a cloud region in Israel would open the door to significant investments and job opportunities.