More Microsoft services certified to handle Australian government data

The Australian Signals Directorate has certified a broad range of Microsoft Azure and Office 365 services for inclusion on its ASD Certified Cloud Services List.

The list determines companies that have met certain eligibility requirements to process and store sensitive Australian government information. Microsoft services included in the list has expanded from 6 to 40 services eligible at the unclassified level, covering the core services appropriate for infrastructure and applications in the hyperscale cloud.

These services include Azure Log Analytics, ExpressRoute and Azure Security Centre, that can help organisations secure and manage data across a hybrid cloud. These inclusions are the first to allow government, education and healthcare organisations to implement Azure Machine Learning, Azure Internet of Things Hub and Azure application services into their projects.

The ASD has also certified 10 additional Office 365 services, covering voice communications, cloud PBS, email, information protection and collaboration. These Office 365 certifications also include advanced cyber security services for threat and information protection, designed to tackle cyber security threats.

Several Australian government organisations already employing many Microsoft services are expected to make greater use of the now certified services, including The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which has built Dynamics 365 and Azure into a new Border Force cargo inspection system.

Victoria’s new Bendigo Hospital is delivering remote access to patient and clinical information in partnership with Mexia on Azure, while emergency services across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria a heavily reliant on Azure and Office 365 to coordinate during natural disasters.

The cloud giant said that a number of Australian software developers will be greatly enabled by the changes, including public sector record management system developer RecordPoint, healthcare, government and utilities insights platform Gruntify and medicine dosage advisory software DoseMe, all which implement a mix of Azure and Office 365 capabilities into their businesses.

Microsoft is positioning itself as the only cloud services provider to cover the full range of data security requirements for the Australian government, from unclassified data through to protected, secret and top secret data.

James Kavanagh Microsoft national technology officer said the company was developing a platform assured for Australian needs.

“Trust is a vital foundation for innovation, so our job is to ensure Microsoft cloud continues to be the most trusted platform on which innovation can thrive,” he said.