Microsoft Launches Azure Local for Government Agencies
Microsoft has officially launched Azure Local for Azure Government customers, transitioning from a public preview phase to full General Availability (GA).This innovative service enables government agencies to operate cloud-connected infrastructure directly at their physical sites, allowing them complete control over their operations while ensuring compliance with strict regulatory and security standards.
Familiar Azure Experience
Azure Local provides a seamless integration with the familiar Azure platform, empowering agencies to deploy, manage, and scale local infrastructure effectively. This connection with the extensive Azure ecosystem enhances operational capabilities and allows for effortless management of resources.
Enhanced Deployment and Management
The GA of Azure Local introduces streamlined deployment processes and management capabilities. Users can easily configure and manage their environments directly from the Azure portal or utilize infrastructure-as-code solutions like ARM templates. This feature not only simplifies provisioning but also ensures operational consistency and lowers the burden on IT teams.
Unified Observability for Better Performance Management
One of the standout features of Azure Local is its Unified Observability, which allows teams to monitor performance, troubleshoot problems, and ensure compliance across both cloud and local infrastructures. This holistic approach provides comprehensive visibility into all distributed resources, including virtual machines, Kubernetes clusters, and physical infrastructure, accessible from a unified dashboard.
Support for Diverse Workloads
Azure Local is designed to accommodate a variety of workloads, ranging from standard Azure Local Virtual Machines to containerized applications through Azure Kubernetes Services enabled by Arc. This flexibility is further enhanced with customizable sizing, networking, and storage options, and clients have the option to use their own virtual machine images or select from a curated list available on Azure Marketplace.
Robust Security Features
Security is a top priority for Azure Local, built with a hardened security framework that adheres to Microsoft’s best practices for infrastructure protection. The integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud bolsters security management by offering continuous threat detection and automated remediation across all resources. Agencies can also benefit from advanced security features including network isolation, identity management, and compliance monitoring.
Long-Term Support Options
Beyond immediate operational capabilities, Azure Local provides Extended Security Updates (ESU), which ensure ongoing protection with critical patches for legacy Microsoft products even after their official support ends. Additionally, the Trusted Launch feature for virtual machines offers heightened security against rootkits and bootkits, featuring a virtual TPM (vTPM) that supports Secure Boot and BitLocker encryption. The integrity and security of data are maintained throughout the lifecycle of the VMs, even during live migrations and automatic failovers.
For more details on this announcement, visit Microsoft’s official blog post here.
Explore additional insights about making cloud productivity extraordinary for U. S.government agencies with Azure Local from Neowin.
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