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Today’s Storystream

Microsoft has stopped allowing engineers based in China to support U.S. military cloud services after a decade-long arrangement came under scrutiny. The move follows a ProPublica exposé and concerns from defense officials about potential cyber vulnerabilities. Despite U.S. oversight, some “digital escorts” lacked the expertise to supervise China-based teams effectively. The Pentagon has launched a full review, signaling tighter scrutiny of foreign involvement in military tech infrastructure.

The Defense Information Systems Agency is now inviting small businesses to join its $9 billion JWCC cloud initiative, once reserved for giants like AWS and Google. DISA seeks firms with deep expertise in multi-cloud engineering, cybersecurity, and application migration. While providers won’t need to supply hardware, the stakes are high—submissions close July 31. It’s a rare opening for smaller players to contribute directly to next-gen U.S. defense cloud strategy.

Microsoft will give customers a final six-month window to secure Exchange Server 2016/2019 and Skype for Business 2015/2019, ending April 14, 2026. Organizations must opt in—and pay—for these updates, which won’t appear in public channels. The company stressed it won’t extend this grace period again. Many firms have delayed migrations, and Microsoft is now drawing a hard line as support expiration nears.

A sweeping industry shift is underway as over 80% of IT asset managers move away from Oracle Java, frustrated by opaque licensing terms and rising audit threats. Oracle’s 2023 per-employee pricing model has pushed teams to seek open-source alternatives, with 79% already migrating or planning to. The fallout marks a deeper reckoning with vendor control—and a growing push for transparency in software asset management.

Houston-based vCompute is eyeing $350 million in growth funding to scale its high-performance compute and colocation footprint, tapping into soaring AI and scientific workloads. Quietly profitable for two decades, the firm now plans to expand beyond its two fully owned, debt-free facilities. With investor interest rising in regional data center plays, vCompute’s low-risk model offers a rare look at disciplined infrastructure growth far from Silicon Valley spotlight.