Azure Government Services – What’s So Special?

Recently, there is a mad rush to get to Azure. Some are calling it the pandemic effect, while others say that the unprecedented growth of Azure was inevitable anyway. Whatever side of the argument you are on, the truth is – Azure has got phenomenal potential. Be it government organizations or large businesses, everyone is out to get their own share of Azure pie.

Azure can be complex for different sets of consumers. There is an easy demarcation for Azure consumption: government use and commercial use.

Why Do Governments Need a Separate Instance of Azure Service?

Today, governments across the globe want to secure their assets and fight the evolving threat of data compromise. When it comes to the public cloud, government services have different sets of requirements than general businesses. Since the degree of data sensitivity is way high, governments must adhere to stringent compliance and security policies. This is difficult to achieve with on-premises solutions.

Azure Government is designed to meet the special requirements of governments. This allows them an easy digital transformation and mitigates their reluctance to cloud adoption. Azure Government significantly strengthens their cybersecurity posture. It is an effective solution for most of the common cloud security problems faced by governments.

This is the primary reason why a separate instance of Azure service is required. This helps in meeting the compliance and security requirements of the US government entities and its partners.

Azure Government Compliance

Azure Government automates several security and compliance parameters with the help of Azure Blueprints. There are standards-based blueprints sample for compliances including Australian Government ISM PROTECTED, Canada Federal PBMM, CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark, DoD Impact Level 4, FedRAMP Moderate, FedRAMP High, HIPAA HITRUST, IRS 1075, ISO 27001, ISO 27001 Shared Services, ISO 27001 App Service Environment/SQL Database workload, Media MPAA, NIST SP 800-53 R4, PCI-DSS v3.2.1, SWIFT CSP-CSCF v2020, UK OFFICIAL and UK NHS Governance, CAF Foundation, and CAF Migrate landing zone.

Who Can Use Azure Government Plans?

There is an eligibility criterion to use Azure Government. Three customer groups are eligible:

1. US government entity
2. Partners working with government entities directly or indirectly
3. Private entity with regulated data

The US government entities must be at the federal, state, county, local, or tribal levels, or federally funded R&D centers. A government partner must provide solutions to US government customers through various contracts. An international private entity can buy Azure Government through subsidiaries based in the United States, complying with data regulation laws.

Comparing Azure Government and Global Azure

An outright technological comparison between Azure Government and global Azure is difficult. This is because Microsoft government uses similar technology beneath as global Azure, comprising the fundamental elements of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Azure Government has features of geo-synchronous replication, network management, data management, ID management, auto-scaling, and more services.

Will A Developer Notice Any Operational Difference?

If you are a developer who has worked in Azure global service, you will have the same experience with Azure Government. The developer will not feel any practical difference while working in the Azure Government cloud.
Microsoft offers plenty of tools to help developers to build and deploy cloud applications. This is available on both instances – Azure global services and Azure Government services. However, there are certain areas to understand the basic difference between the two Azure instances.

• Configuration of programming environment
• Endpoint configuration
• Writing codes for apps
• Application deployment as services in Azure Government

Let the Government Say – In Cloud We Trust

Many private organizations hope to be eligible for Azure Government services as a badge of credibility. But managing Azure can be complex. Even if you are eligible for the Azure government cloud, there are finer nuances of working with Azure. A government endorsed partner can help you to get started with Azure.

After using Azure services smoothly, reluctant governments must say, “In Cloud We Trust.”

If you are eligible for Azure Government services, contact our support team how can Apps4Rent, as a Tier 1 CSP, help you implement the same.

We are one of the few Microsoft certified Government Cloud Partners. We provide Office 365 Government licensing and services to government organizations and its affiliates.

We provide end-to-end services for Azure deployment and offer 24/7 support via phone, chat, and email. If you are looking for Azure Government CSP, look no beyond us. Contact us now!