Microsoft has built its all-new government secret data center. The new data center is specifically created for the classified government data and analysis as the company is currently battling with Amazon for $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI). Microsoft Azure cloud-based technology is currently looking to develop a secret data center for especially based on government requirement of high-level security. Lily Kim, General Manager, Azure Global said in a blog post said that we are moving towards a significant stage where we are serving our mission customers from cloud to edge with the initial availability of two new Azure Government Secret Regions.
The new data centers are operated by clearance based US citizens; built on the requirement of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and marketplace solutions bringing the required strength in commercial innovation to classified government space. Microsoft is all set to operate the new data centers but is still waiting for the security clearance from the US Defense Department before the military, or intelligence agency can move the classified files in the data center. The current location of the data center hasn’t been disclosed other than these data centers are located almost 500 miles apart from each other.
Using the new Azure Government Secret data centers will enable cloud services to the Department of Defense (DoD), intelligence community and federal agencies. The new facilities are built on the idea to support and secure government agencies with the workload and also satisfy the strict regulatory and compliance requirements of a government agency. Microsoft had worked for over forty years to bring the current commercial innovation in the defense industry. With the new opportunity for enabling subjective adoption of cloud-based technology that will help in modernizing the IT to enable the federal missions better. Microsoft added that it would expand the scope of Azure Government data center region to enable DoD impact level 5 (IL5) data providing the security with cost-effective option of managing the IL5 workload.