Azure Updates: Government Top Secret tier; Modular Datacenter; Synapse

Microsoft announces a new Government Top Secret tier, updates around its Modular Datacenter, Synapse and more.

CVP Tom Keane announced the expansion of Azure Government Secret to the new Government Top Secret tier. The offering is in an accreditation process with the US government, with early uptake by the Department of Defense and law enforcement agencies. In a slate of recent changes, Microsoft added Kubernetes Service, Container Instances, Sentinel, Security Center, Monitor and Availability Zones to the offering.

Also on the theme of government use cases, general manager Bill Karagounis shared more details about the Azure Modular Datacenter announced earlier this fall, emphasizing its role for national security scenarios. The network high availability module, an add-on feature, offers an environmentally controlled outdoor enclosure that supports network and satellite communication equipment. Karagounis explained that the high availability module provides an uninterrupted power supply that can make a difference in resiliency.

CVP Rohan Kumar highlighted the general availability of Azure Synapse. The offering combines data warehousing, data integration and big data analytics, as well as a host of no-code options. In its general release, teams can secure an entire analytics system and take measures to prevent data exfiltration by selecting the managed virtual network feature. A new distributed SQL engine is also up ...