Office 365 & Azure Government Cloud Services

1. What does GovCloud mean?

GovCloud expresses all the cloud computing solutions and virtualization products that are established specifically for government organizations, institutions, and agencies.

The GovCloud was established to administer and address cloud solutions that meet the IT needs as well as the financial, strategic, and operational objectives of the United States government.

2. Why is Microsoft Govt Cloud important?

The organizations that provide services for any kind of U.S. government entity, whether it be local, federal or state need to meet a set of criteria of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-145. Standards are strict and have been put in to secure both "customer content" and "customer data."

• Customer content stands for a specific bath of customer data that has been distinctly created by users, like content stored in databases. This includes but isn't limited to the private contact information of the customer. Content is generally considered confidential and it should not be shared without encryption over the internet.
• Customer data refers to all data, including sound, video, text, or image files, that are provided over the online service by a customer.

3. What is GCC?

The technology requirements and needs of the US government are different from private sector businesses. So, Microsoft created dedicated services and software called Office 365 US Government that serves specifically to the public sector.

This offering also addresses many of the compliance struggles that government cloud computing faces. The plan named, Office 365 GCC is available and is based on monthly and yearly subscriptions that can then be licensed to an unlimited number of users. However, due to the added security and infrastructure, Microsoft GCC pricing is 40% higher than normal Microsoft government license costs.

4. Is my organization eligible for Office 365 GCC license?

To qualify for the MS Government licensing your organization must not operate for a profit and either be a local, federal, tribal or state agency. This encircles any local, federal or state government office, agency, department or any other entity. Moreover, it includes any local or state entity that is authorized by the state laws to make within state contracts. This includes any tribal entity that performs governmental functions and is eligible for the U.S. Department of Interior funding and services.

However, even though the organization operates for profit, they may still be eligible. It is crucial that those organizations fit into all the following criteria:

• All profits/revenues going solely to the government and not private shareholders.
• The organization is exempt from corporation tax.
• The organization gets more than half of its funding from the government, rather than from any commercial activities.
• Usually, government organizations that undertake commercial activities, such as banking, transportation, and telecommunications, will not qualify for Microsoft Government Licenses. If an organization loses its eligibility after entering into a licensing agreement with Microsoft, the agreement will stand, but the organization may not renew the agreement when it expires. Apply for eligibility check today!

5. How does GCC deployment take place?

Not every organization that is a part of the U.S government will qualify for GCC. It is important to determine and understand the features offered here are way beyond the normal Office 365 functionalities. To qualify, the organization must be classified as government, which includes organizations ranging from entities to agencies that are state authorized to purchase under state contracts. Also, eligibility extends to organizations that handle data that falls under government requirements and regulations.