Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Gov first into US FedRAMP Accelerated authorization

FedRAMP, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, announced this week that Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Government is the first cloud service provider to be granted a moderate-level Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) by the Joint Authorization Board (JAB) using the new FedRAMP Accelerated authorization timeline.

Microsoft has offered US federal government agencies its own cloud computing environment for several years now and has even achieved ATO for individual agencies like HUD in the past. So what's new about this? A Microsoft spokesperson explained:

"What's new today is that Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Government is the first [federal government CSP] to be approved though the new FedRAMP Accelerated review process which is optimized for digital transformation. Prior to the JAB approval, Federal Agencies could individually review the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Government FedRAMP Package and issue Agency ATOs. With the new P-ATO issued by the JAB, the individual agencies no longer need to issue a specific Agency ATO."

That means that now all federal government agencies can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Government sooner.

According to a Microsoft blog post, Dynamics CRM Online Government achieved the JAB P-ATO on September 22 and had previously achieved an Agency FedRAMP moderate ATO earlier in the year. Microsoft first achieved JAB P-ATO for our Azure service in 2013.