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# Introduction
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 Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers scalable, cost-efficient cloud services that public sector customers can use to meet mandates, reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and accelerate innovation. 

 The procurement of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud is unlike traditional technology purchasing. Traditional public sector procurement and contracting approaches that are designed to purchase products such as hardware and related software can be inconsistent with cloud services (like IaaS). A failure to modernize contracting and procurement approaches can reduce the pool of competitors and inhibit customer ability to adopt and leverage cloud technology. 