Microsoft and Dell, who uses Microsoft technology, revealed earlier this week that it’s landed a cloud deal with the intelligence community.

The deal, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, will allow 17 intelligence agencies to use its Azure Government and Office 365 services, including the federal government.

The deal could lead to Microsoft beating its rivals Amazon, IBM and Oracle to winning Pentagon’s 10-year cloud contract.

Pentagon is the largest government cloud contract, estimated to be worth billions within the next decade.

Despite this, technology companies, including Microsoft, are urging the agency to chose more than one vendor to win the project, because of “stifling innovation” and “security risks”.

Microsoft is also planning to make a version of its blockchain technology available for government agencies after several agencies expressed interest.

Written by Leah Alger