Microsoft announced that the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and Defense Information Systems Agency are expanding access to Microsoft solutions by entering into a transformative three-year Joint Enterprise Licensing Agreement for enterprise licenses and software assurance. The agreement provides all three organizations with a single vehicle for accessing the latest Microsoft technologies in support of top IT priorities around datacenter consolidation, collaboration, cyber security, mobility, cloud computing and big data. This licensing agreement covers nearly 75% of all DoD personnel.

The net new contract was awarded to Insight Public Sector, a division of Insight Enterprises, a global Microsoft Large Account Reseller. As part of this agreement, the company said all three organizations can begin using the newest versions of Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office 2013, SharePoint 2013 Enterprise and Windows 8. The ability to standardize on SharePoint 2013 Enterprise will unlock new levels of cross-agency information sharing through adjusted enterprise search and social communications features while powering business intelligence and reporting capabilities. Access to Office 2013 will equip each organization with the latest versions of productivity tools that personnel rely on every day, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.

The increasingly mobile DoD workforce will also use Windows 8 to enable productivity from any location, and any supported device, while taking advantage of enhanced security. The U.S. Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command headquartered at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. and the Air Force Program Executive Office for Business and Enterprise Systems at Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex in Alabama, have been working closely with Microsoft on achieving Army Golden Master and Air Force Standard Desktop Configuration compliance for Windows 8. Insight Enterprises is a technology provider of hardware, software and service solutions to business and government clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.