US Army CIO Guarantees Email Service Access Despite Office 365 License Limit

U.S. Army Chief Information Officer and former Potomac Officers Club speaker Raj Iyer said that even though the number of Microsoft Office 365 licenses that will be purchased is fewer than the number of people in the Army, everyone will still have access to email.

In an interview with FedScoop, the official said the service is looking for alternative solutions for junior enlisted members and other staff members who will not get access to the full suite of MS Office 365. The Army decided to buy only 1.2 million licenses, which is around 200,000 less than the number of users across the military branch. Iyer said the decision could save the organization around $150 million, FedScoop reported Monday.

According to the CIO, the decision to buy fewer licenses came after several enlisted soldiers revealed that many in the Army do not use their email tools. The personnel also shared that they prefer other communication methods like chat messaging. Iyer said the current procurement arrangement will give personnel the software they need to get their job done and ensure that resources will not be wasted.

The move to Microsoft Office 365 is part of the Army’s efforts to transition away from the current Defense Enterprise Email system, which is slated to expire in March 2022. The Department of Defense wants to adopt remote work arrangements, prompting the adoption of DOD365 for the department and Army 365 for the service. Both Army 365 and DOD365 are based on the MS Office 365 offering but with additional cybersecurity features. The transition to the new platform started through the development of the Defense Enterprise Office Solution cloud contract.