What Is Gcc High Gcc Dod And Commercial Microsoft 365
One of the most common questions we receive is Which cloud is right for us?. Understanding the differences between Commercial, GCC and GCC High Microsoft 365 environments is important, and almost directly aligns to your compliance needs. Before making the decision, it is important to understand the differences between these environments. Check out our video focused on Compliance in GCC High.
Understanding The Government Community Cloud
The infrastructure requirements and requirements of the US government are very distinct from those of conventional private-sector businesses. Consequently, Microsoft created Office 365 US Government, specialized services and apps for the public sector. This service addresses a number of the enforcement issues that government computing confronts.
There are two subscription options for customers who want to utilize Office 365: Office 365 GCC and Office 365 GCC High, either of which can be leased to unlimited people. In contrast to the Office 365 Government Community Cloud, Office 365 business licenses have an extra 40% above their normal cost owing to the added security and infrastructure requirements.
What Is Microsoft Gcc
Microsoft GCC is essentially a clone of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite, but custom-built for the government environment rather than commercial. The GCC has most of the same features and functionality as Office 365, except that its data centers are located only within the continental United States as mandated by the FedRAMP Moderate standard.
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Allow Connections To Power Bi
To use the Power BI service, you must allow connections to required endpoints on the internet. These destinations have to be reachable to enable communication between your own network, Power BI, and other dependent services.
The following table lists the required endpoints to add to your allowlist to enable connection to the Power BI service for general site usage. These endpoints are unique to the US government cloud. The Power BI service requires only Transmission Control Protocol port 443 to be opened for the listed endpoints.
The endpoints for getting data, dashboard and report integration, Power BI visuals, and other optional services arenââ¬â¢t unique to the US government cloud.
To add these URLs to your allowlist also, see Add Power BI URLs to your allowlist.
Authentication, identity, and administration for Power BI depend on connectivity to Microsoft 365 services. You also have to connect to Microsoft 365 to view audit logs. To identify the endpoints for these services, see “Microsoft 365 integration” in the following table:
Alignment With Other Cloud Security Control Profiles
It is part of the GC cloud adoption strategy Footnote 1 to align GC cloud profiles with those of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and other cloud-related initiatives, notably, the Cloud Security Alliance , the US Defense Information System Agency Footnote 13, and the International Organization for Standardization Footnote 14. This strategic alignment will help ensure interoperability between cloud service offerings, and the reusability of the IT security evidence used by other programs to certify or authorize cloud services.
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Discover Fast Private Connectivity
Azure Government Secret uses Azure networking technologies, delivering high-speed communications within the Continental United States back to exclusive datacenters over a private network.
Connect natively through US government classified networks or utilize options for private, resilient, high-bandwidth connectivity using ExpressRoute and ExpressRoute Direct. See which connectivity option best fits your agencys needs:
How To Buy Gcc High Or Gcc
Agile IT is one of the only AOS-G partners authorized to license GCC High for any size company . We hold over 15 Microsoft Gold Competencies, are a Fast Track Ready Partner, and were also one of the first Microsoft Partners selected to license and manage Azure Government. If you need GCC High for your organization, or need help finding out what cloud is right for you, contact us today.
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You Have To Meet The Most Stringent Security Standards
Technology compliance guidelines are essential for protecting our nation. As a government contractor, you have guidelines that dictate where your data is stored, who can access it, and even who you can get technical support from. But when technology isnt your main business focus, these guidelines can feel like an overbearing use of time and resources. As a CMMC-RPOMicrosoft Gold Partner, we are here to help make things easier.
A Large Partner Ecosystem
This is an important difference between community clouds and public clouds. While public cloud platforms can be freely integrated with external applications and third-party tools, a community cloud environment is more closed and segregated. This means that only certified vendors and partners will be able to operate within a community cloud environment, which adds to its security quotient. A large partner ecosystem on the part of your cloud provider will help make the environment flexible while also being secure and private.
Check for hardware partnerships so that the cloud is supported by cutting-edge servers and data center technology. Security partnerships and application development support are also essential, as they help build out the environment and make it ready for business use. Finally, partnerships with network technology providers will help establish secure connectivity within your organization and with other members of the community cloud.
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It Security Engineering Principles
In addition to the business, technical, and threat contexts documented in previous sections, the selection of security controls for the GC cloud PBMM profile was also influenced by the choice of security engineering best-practices applied to the implementation of dependable information systems. This profile is meant to address the IT security needs of a broad range of business activities, from day-to-day office work to citizen-facing service delivery applications to common and shared service infrastructure support. The protection of business activities call for security approaches where, at a minimum, the following main security engineering best-practices are applied:
The broad range of applicability of this profile does not lend itself easily to the use of a set of IT security approaches where strict boundary protection and strong physical and personnel security are used as the main protection measures . In contrast, this profile suggests a balanced set of security controls to reduce the risks of compromised internal elements of an information system being used to easily compromise additional elements. This profile also suggests security controls to detect, respond, and recover gracefully from security incidents. Many of these controls are operational controls that a mature CSP should have in place, not only for security reasons, but also for the efficient and cost-effective day-to-day operations and management of information systems.
Levels Of Maturity For Cyber Controls
CMMC serves as a verification tool to establish appropriate levels of maturity for cyber controls. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment elaborates that:
The CMMC will review and combine various cybersecurity standards and best practices and map these controls and processes across several maturity levels that range from basic cyber hygiene to advanced.
With levels ranging from 1 to 5, the requirements to achieve CMMC compliance increase as each level progresses. For example:
- Level 1: Examines basic cyber hygiene and everyday controls requiring compliance with FAR 52 controls.
- Level 5: Requires advanced, state-of-the-art cyber controls. This level includes compliance with all NIST SP 800-171 controls and many enhancements from 800-171b.
For example, according to NIST 800-171 3.5.1 and 3.5.2, organizations must identify all system users, processes acting on behalf of users, and devices. To help meet this requirement, Microsofts GCC High has stringent background check capabilities for employees that align with the Office of Personnel Management level 3 background check.
Because GCC-High is also reserved for organizations in the DIB sector, DoD contractors, and Federal Agencies, organizations must also be validated by Microsoft to use it. Being CMMC compliant and having a reliable cloud environment to accommodate sensitive data, is critical for organizations to earn high-value DoD contracts.
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What Is Gcc High
GCC High is a copy of the DOD cloud environment, intended for use by DOD contractors, cabinet-level agencies, and other cleared personnel. Its called GCC High because it meets the FedRAMP high impact requirements. GCC High sits on the Azure Government infrastructure, making it a more secure cloud environment than normal GCC.
Us Government Community Compliance
Office 365 Government supports the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program accreditation at a High Impact level. FedRAMP artifacts are available for review by customers who are required to comply with FedRAMP. Federal agencies can review these artifacts in support of their review to issue an Authority to Operate .
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Integrating Cmmc With Gcc
The Cybersecurity Knowledge Management Certification announcement on September 4, 2019, adds additional urgency to the adoption of GCC High. The model specifies five stages of cybersecurity maturity, used to assess cybersecurity controls and procedures and guarantee compliance with applicable regulations. Most significantly, this certification will ultimately decide your ability to continue working for the Department of Defense.
Office 365 for government community cloud offers a systematic strategy to protecting your environment and preparing your organization for CMMC compliance. We provide the technology needed to support the processes inside CMMC and align the procedures are designed at higher levels of maturity, using GCC High and select distinct benefits. This modular approach enables our customers to choose the services they have to finish their legal journey.
Creating the GCC Roadmap for the successful implementation
IT management is responsible for developing a governance policy. A comprehensive feature set offers improved government surveillance and control, whether for team creation and guest access or collective termination rules and team archiving. The key to successfully deploying the office 365 government cloud system via Government Cloud Services and GCC High is identifying and documenting all governance criteria and connecting these needs to the capabilities and settings that can guarantee compliance.
Disadvantages Of Community Cloud
There are the following disadvantages of Community Cloud –
- Community cloud is not a good choice for every organization.
- Slow adoption to data
- The fixed amount of data storage and bandwidth is shared among all community members.
- Community Cloud is costly than the public cloud.
- Sharing responsibilities among organizations is difficult.
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What Is A Government Community Cloud
- GovDataHosting
Now more than ever, Federal, state, and local government agencies are migrating to a cloud environment to host the critical business processes that support their mission objectives. The same can be said of commercial enterprises and private organizations, but the needs of the government are unique. To address the requirements of these government programs, where both security and data availability are of paramount concern, specialized cloud hosting providers have created dedicated resources for government use known as a government community cloud.
A government community cloud is a comprehensive suite of advanced cloud hosting, cyber security, and information management technologies exclusively arranged for government agencies and their supporting contractors. Only the U.S. government and approved suppliers may access the virtualization products and cloud computing solutions of the government community cloud.
Office 365 Government Gcc And Yammer
Yammer for enterprise is not a component of Office 365 Government, but may be acquired at no cost as a standalone offer for each user licensed for Office 365 Government Plan E1 and E3. This offer is currently limited to customers who purchase Office 365 Government under Enterprise Agreement and Enterprise Subscription Agreements.
Currently, Yammer provides logical separation of customer data at the application layer. However, Yammer does not provide the same data location and data access features as Office 365 Government, does not support FedRAMP accreditation, and is subject to different contract terms from Office 365 services. It is recommended that you review the Yammer service description and privacy terms when assessing the appropriate use of Yammer for your organization. To learn which Office 365 Government plans include Yammer, see Office 365 Government.
If you decide that the use of Yammer is appropriate for your organization as part of your Office 365 Government subscription and you have purchased one of the above-mentioned plans that includes Yammer, under your Enterprise Enrollment, you can request an amendment to enable your Yammer for enterprise subscription.
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Community Cloud Iaas For Central Government
Our IaaS is an automated infrastructure environment that enables digital services, complex, and evolving application and infrastructure requirements. The service is ideal for both test & development as well as production environments and is used for digital transformation, windows & Linux hosting, transactional systems, and legacy workloads, including Oracle hosting.
Redefining The Customer Experience
If youve read our previous blogs, you probably heard us talk about the Customer 360-degree view. With Salesforce, all your relevant information and data are synced in one place. Community Clouds primary function is to use this data to improve your customers or partners experience when dealing with your organization.
With Communities, you can connect your customers, partners, and employees directly to the information, apps, and experts that they need to take action. As a result, Community Cloud has a number of licenses aimed at different users. For example, with a Customer Community license , you can provide a better user experience and customer support by allowing customers to self-serve and solve issues by themselves. With a Partner Community license , accelerate sales by providing your partners with access to opportunities, leads, campaigns, and quotes. If youre looking to empower your employees and improve communication and collaboration, then the Lightning Platform Starter/Plus is for you.
Community Cloud can help companies of any size and are fully responsive across all mobile devices. No matter the user profile, anyone crucial to your company can be added to a community. You can even have multiple communities within one org for specific purposes.
Streamline key business processes and expand them across departments, offices, customers, partners and more. Communities are easily managed with the Community Management Console.
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Which Government Cloud Option Is Right For You
In light of recent government data breaches, its critical to select the right Microsoft GCC for optimal data security. With Varonis as a Microsoft Silver Partner, youll be able to assess your use case, budget, and security requirements to select GCC, GCC High, or DOD. Moreover, Varonis functions as a cloud data security platform to help you manage and protect data stored in the Azure Commercial or Government clouds, adding critical functionality that isnt baked into the native Microsoft security and compliance tools.
In general, non-defense-related government agencies and contractors will be best served by the normal GCC. Youll have access to the full suite of the functionality of Microsoft 365 at a lower cost and fewer headaches as it relates to approvals and background checks.
Its you work with highly sensitive CDI or CUI, then GCC High is probably the best cloud infrastructure. While youll lose a bit of functionality, GCC High will ensure compliance with regulations like FedRAMP High and ITAR.
Robust Managed Service Capabilities
Unlike the public cloud, where organizations can take full ownership of implementation with little to no involvement from the vendor, community cloud providers must also act as an MSP. This means that they will take charge of designing the infrastructure architecture, covering both hardware and software needs. They must be able to remotely troubleshoot the system and simplify the day-to-day management of the community cloud.
As your business environment evolves and you onboard new partners, the cloud environment must expand accordingly. The provider should be able to aid scalability, provisioning fresh hardware, network capacities, and software tools. Importantly, as an MSP, the provider must deliver a high uptime guarantee and 24x7x365 availability for remote troubleshooting.
These are the five foundational features that make a community cloud solution suitable for a company or a group of companies. Let us now discuss the top providers that meet these criteria.
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Microsoft Government Community Cloud Is The Answer
Manufacturers, consultants, even logistics providers who work with branches of the US government cant rely on commercial technology solutions. There are simply too many gaps in security that will leave you short of the compliance requirements. Thats where Microsoft Office 365 Government comes in.
Microsoft 365 Government plans like GCC High are designed specifically for government organizations and their contractors.
You get all the Office 365 features and capabilities your businesses needs, based in a segmented government cloud community so that you meet even the highest U.S. compliance and security standards.
Trust Azure Government Secretbuilt Exclusively For Classified Data
Get comprehensive and powerful cloud services built exclusively to support US agencies and partners working with Secret US security classification level data. Developed using the same principles and architecture as Azure commercial clouds, Azure Government Secret is enhanced for maintaining the security and integrity of classified workloads while enabling fast access to sensitive, mission-critical information.
Azure Government Secret achieved Provisional Authorization at Department of Defense Impact Level 6 and Intelligence Community Directive 503 with facilities at ICD 705. Designed and built for Infrastructure as a Service , Platform as a Service , Software as a Service and Marketplace solutions, Azure Government Secret provides a broad range of commercial innovation for classified workloads. To provide the geodiversity required, Azure Government Secret delivers across three dedicated regions located over 500 miles apart.
Azure Government Secret operates on secure, native connections to classified networks with options for ExpressRoute and ExpressRoute Direct for private, resilient, high-bandwidth connectivity.
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What Is Microsoft 365 Dod
We are only mentioning the DoD enclave here for completeness sake. You dont qualify unless you are DoD. The DoD cloud was purpose built for the Department of Defense and the DoD only. No contractors, no outside personnel, no exceptions. One thing to mention is that the DoD enclave is the ONLY of the four clouds to meet DoD SRG Levels 5 and 6.
