Key Takeaways:
- Microsoft has announced the public preview of the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty, enabling government customers to meet data compliance and security requirements.
- The new solution offers sovereign controls, allowing sensitive data to be protected through encryption at rest, in transit, and in use.
- The Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty includes Sovereign Landing Zone, Transparency Logs, and automated workload templates.
Microsoft has announced the public preview of its Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty solution tailored specifically for the public sector. The new offering marks a significant step towards empowering government entities to navigate the complex landscape of data compliance and security requirements with confidence.
Microsoft first unveiled Cloud for Sovereignty at its annual Inspire partner conference in July 2022. It allows customers to run their workloads in over 60 data center regions, access all Microsoft cloud services, and enable residency options to meet their regulatory requirements. There are also sovereign controls to protect and encrypt sensitive data at rest, in transit, and in use.
“Our principled approach to digital sovereignty in the cloud builds on our principled approach to data privacy in the cloud. We understand that sovereignty can mean different things for different scenarios, and as we work with customers and partners around the world the common thread is a need to determine for themselves where their data resides and how it’s protected, including who has access to that data,” said Corey Sanders, CVP for Microsoft Cloud for Industry.
Microsoft has introduced a couple of new capabilities for government customers. Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty includes support for Sovereign Landing Zone (SLZ). It’s a variant of the enterprise-scale Azure Landing Zone and uses the same infrastructure-as-code and policy-as-code. Sovereign Landing Zone is designed to make it easier for government customers to get up and running as well as tailor policies to their specific needs.
Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty to hit general availability in December
With the new Transparency Logs service, public sector customers can gain visibility into the key operational activities of Microsoft engineers who access their resources. Customers will be able to use automated workload templates for Azure Confidential Computing and Azure Lighthouse. It should make it easier for sovereign environments to adopt the new technology and drive digital transformation.
Microsoft plans to make its new Cloud for Sovereignty solution generally available for all government customers in December. “We look forward to continuing to serve customer needs for preferred solutions that facilitate innovation while helping meet their various compliance, security and policy requirements,” Sanders added.