Microsoft is adding Microsoft 365 bundle, Azure Stack options for government users
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On March 5 at its Government Tech Summit in Washington, D.C, Microsoft announced availability of Microsoft 365 for US Government Cloud.
This bundle includes Windows 10, Office 365, and Enterprise Mobility + Security features for U.S. Government customers. Its the latest addition to the Microsoft 365 family, which also includes versions for SMBs, enterprises, education, first-line (customer service) workers, nonprofits and more.
Microsoft offers three different government clouds, all of which keep data isolated in the U.S. and in its own separate physical infrastructure. The three are Government Community Cloud (GCC) for civilian state, local and federal government agencies; GCC High for highly classified government users and those doing business with them; and DoD cloud for intelligence agencies.
Microsoft 365 for US Government is generally available in GCC, GCC High, and DoD Cloud (as of March 1, 2018.) Microsoft plans to add Microsoft Teams support for these government cloud environments as of April 2018.
Update: That April date for Teams isn't definitive. Microsoft originally gave me an April timeframe, but subsequently let me know they were working to release as quickly as possible. The official statement: "Microsoft is working to bring Microsoft Teams to government cloud at each compliance level as quickly as possible."
Microsoft execs also noted that Enterprise Mobility + Security is now generally available separately for US Government cloud users.
Microsoft officials also announced today that Microsoft will be making its Azure Stack hybrid cloud offering to US government users sometime "soon."
Microsoft already has Microsoft Azure Government, a cloud offering to US government customers and partners. Azure Stack will integrate with the Azure Government cloud across identity, subscription, billing, backup, disaster recovering, monitoring tools and the Azure Marketplace.
Azure Stack is a hybrid appliance that Microsoft makes available via a handful of partners. It provides customers with many of the pieces of Microsoft's Azure public-cloud platform in a form they can run inside their own or partners' on-premises datacenters. Microsoft's partners began making Azure Stack generally available last fall.