Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Earns Ticket to Ride on Government Cloud

On August 5, 2015, Microsoft announced that it was granted Authority to Operate (ATO) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Dynamics CRM Online Government cloud.  The ATO is an important milestone in Microsoft's efforts to provide cloud-based enterprise solutions to U.S. government agencies. 

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management (FedRAMP) accreditation is a joint program involving General Services Administration (GSA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DOD), National Security Agency (NSA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council.  It was established to streamline security assessment of cloud products and services so that multiple agencies could benefit from cloud providers who meet federal guidelines without each agency repeating time consuming and costly certification processes. FedRAMP authorizes cloud systems after a thorough assessment of security compliance as well as ongoing assessments. For more information, review the government's explanation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and its status with FedRAMP.

Figure 1. FedRAMP allows multiple agencies to use cloud services which have been assessed and authorized by other government agencies.  (Source: https://www.fedramp.gov/about-us/about/ )

Now eligible government agencies can benefit from Dynamics CRM Online Government, knowing that it meets the highest security standards. Microsoft partners have developed hundreds of government solutions based on Dynamics CRM, so these may now be deployed in the Microsoft Government cloud as an alternative to on premise deployment ...