Microsoft Targets DOD, GSA with New Gov Cloud Services

Microsoft released updates to Microsoft 365 Government Cloud, along with other cloud-based services and platform capabilities, in an effort to enhance IT modernization operations and communications for a wide range of government agencies.

The news comes in time for the final RFQ the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Defense Department (DOD) plan to issue as part of their cloud acquisition contract, Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS), which aims to transition government email and messaging from legacy enterprise systems to secure, cloud-based services.

The three main cloud services and capabilities introduced include Teams, Power Platform and Dynamic 365 High, explained Microsoft Federal CTO Susie Adams.

Teams brings a whole bunch of pieces into a single area, said Adams, where groups can facilitate communications through chat, voice calls, collaborative editing and document workspaces.

Previously exclusive to Office 365, Teams is now available in Office 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC) High and DOD environments, meeting DOD’s Cloud Computing Security Requirements up to Impact Level 5, as well as other security and compliance requirements (i.e. FedRAMP and NIST).

The Power Platform is a trio of application services that includes: Power BI, a self-service intelligence data solutions app; Power, a low-code and no-code app used to configure custom applications; and Flow, an automated work processes app.

“Think of it as a capability to do three main things: analyze, act and automate,” Adams told GovernmentCIO Media & Research.

Designed specifically for those without an extensive background in computer programming, the platform will allow government users to seamlessly create apps, visualize and organize data, and respond to real-time data, according to the user’s wants and needs.

As a business service platform, Dynamics 365 connects government users with their personal customers in a GCC high environment, where they can directly interact with customers via customer engagement capabilities and data insight tools.

Aside from the upcoming DEOS contract, Microsoft currently serves 10 million government users across 7,000 different government agencies. Over the long-term, its goal is to keep improving its service platforms and user-capabilities.