I’m proud to announce that the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) has extended its digital transformation investment in Microsoft technologies through a transformative agreement worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars over six years. This agreement expands the IC’s use of Microsoft products to now include Windows 10 and Microsoft’s Cloud for Government, including Office 365 for US Government and Azure Government, via a Joint Enterprise Licensing Agreement awarded to Dell Inc.
Microsoft has longstanding relationships with the IC. With this agreement the community will now be able to leverage the full innovation of our complete Microsoft Cloud for Government platform for the first time. This agreement bolsters Microsoft’s position as a leading government cloud provider delivering advanced capabilities to further the IC’s national security mission, and we are deeply committed to continue to expand our support to serve the full spectrum of IC initiatives across all its agencies.
The IC is responsible for handling some of the toughest problems facing the nation, harnessing the intelligence derived from the most sensitive data at unprecedented scale. This new agreement provides the IC with a vehicle for accessing the latest Microsoft technologies to further empower its agencies, optimize operations and modernize infrastructure.
This agreement positions Microsoft to help the IC achieve its mission at home and around the world with a trusted cloud and modern workplace solution that keeps critical data secure, while delivering advanced capabilities including artificial intelligence, machine learning and large-scale data analysis.
Microsoft is also unique in offering an end-to-end, government-only cloud platform across Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), complete with modern collaboration and productivity tools.
Through this latest agreement, the IC can leverage technology innovation, embracing interoperability and providing secure hyperscale cloud that extends to meet each of their 17 agencies right where they are.
Over 10 million government customers from every federal cabinet level agency, including the Department of Defense, and multiple state and local governments rely on Microsoft’s Cloud for Government to help them move their modernization efforts forward. Examples of the potential innovations include:
- Advanced cyberthreat protection through Microsoft Cloud for Government’s billion-dollar security investment in cutting-edge security tools and services that deliver a comprehensive picture of an agency’s security posture and use them to proactively detect and remediate malicious activity.
- The power of deep learning across applications, through Microsoft’s AI solutions such as Cognitive Services.
- The ability to build on the Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities of Azure to bring advanced compute capabilities to the edge, giving them the ability to analyze and gain insight from data streams in near real-time to enhance decision making.
- Using Office 365 for US Government, employees can stay productive from anywhere, using virtually any device, with a seamless platform experience and leading capabilities for mobility, teamwork, analytics, accessibility and AI-driven search.
To ensure world-class security, Azure Government’s eight geographically distributed, highly available government-only datacenter regions host no commercial data. Only U.S. federal, the Department of Defense (DoD), state and local governments and their partners have access to this dedicated instance of Azure operated by screened U.S. persons. Azure Government also offers the deepest built-in compliance on the market, maintaining more than 70 certifications, the most of any cloud provider at every level of government. Office 365 for US Government also supports U.S. federal security standards like both FEDRAMP Moderate and High, as well as industry regulations like CJIS in law enforcement, FERPA in education, or HIPAA in healthcare, along with many others.
We’re committed to meeting the needs of the full spectrum of government. We will continue to expand our trusted government cloud offerings to deliver the latest emerging commercial technology innovation to empower the public sector to achieve its mission.
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Source: The Official Microsoft Blog