Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud

    Microsoft Grows Its Government Cloud

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    October 18, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Next year, Microsoft is flipping the switch on two new Azure Government cloud data centers, one in Arizona and the other in Texas, the company announced today. The new facilities will join existing facilities in Virginia and Iowa, draping the Southwest and South Central parts of the United States with lower latency cloud services.

      “Now, Microsoft has a total of six dedicated regions for government customers—significantly more than any other cloud provider,” Jason Zander, corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure, said in an Oct. 18 announcement. “Combined with dedicated Government ExpressRoute options, Microsoft offers government agencies broad choice of where they host their data and where they connect directly to Microsoft’s infrastructure.”

      Zander also revealed that Microsoft is readying Department of Defense-specific versions of Office 365 and Azure. Delivered from two regions and physically isolated from the company’s commercial cloud, these offerings will provide military branches and other Defense Department with high-security access to Office software and Azure cloud services by the end of 2016, he added. Department of Defense networks will connect via ExpressRoute, Microsoft’s private and secure link to Azure, which bypasses the public internet.

      Last week, Microsoft announced the Azure Blueprint program, a resource that government agencies can use to plan secure and compliant cloud deployments. The documents offer guidance to IT workers on rolling out services for their agencies that conform to some the U.S. federal government’s stringent data security standards. “The initial release includes documentation to assist Azure customers with documenting their security control implementations as part of their individual agency ATO [Authority to Operate] processes,” explained Nate Johnson, a Microsoft senior manager, in an Oct. 12 announcement.

      “The FedRAMP Moderate baseline Customer Responsibility Matrix (CRM) and System Security Plan (SSP) template are designed for use by Program Managers, Information System Security Officers (ISSO), and other security personnel who are documenting system-specific security controls within Azure Cloud,” continued Johnson. Updated CRM and SSP templates that address FedRAMP High and DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency) Impact Levels 4 and 5 are in the works, he added.

      Since its late-2014 launch, Microsoft’s government cloud has made solid progress in getting government agencies to embrace cloud-enabled IT operations and software services.

      Azure Government’s client roster includes more than 7,000 federal, state and municipal government customers, said Zander. Over 6 million government-affiliated workers use the cloud app and services suite.

      Law enforcement agencies are also jumping onboard, reported Zander. “Microsoft has signed Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) agreements in 23 states, covering more than 60 percent of the U.S. population.”

      The competition isn’t sitting still. Earlier this year, IBM announced that it had been authorized to deliver cloud services at the highest security levels after the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) cleared its IBM Cloud for Impact Level 5 workloads.

      Last month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced it had signed CJIS agreements with the Oregon and Louisiana. This past summer, AWS GovCloud was awarded DISA Impact Level 4 authorization and Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, joined the Department of Defense’s Innovation Advisory Board.

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×