Microsoft has released a new version of Office 365 designed specifically for the Federal Government. The program is installed on special servers that can only be accessed by governmental agencies.
With security being a primary concern, Microsoft has stated that Office 365 for Government complies with several security standards, including those that cover the use of health related data, known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), that governs the use of other government information.
The Office 365 for Government which was certified to international standards such as ISO27001, SAS70 Type II, EU Model, and EU Safe Harbor directives, includes many of the current productivity suites such as Microsoft Exchange Online, and Office Professional Plus.
Office has been used extensively in Federal governmental institutions, and has given the software giant a solid foothold in the business of supplying software to the government. The company is currently constructing several massive data centers in Washington.
As the use of cloud computing accelerates, the landscape or the cloudscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Microsoft hopes that Office 365 for Government will compete in the potentially lucrative area, where Google and Amazon also provide services. The competition is becoming more intense.
Google has apparently been successfully in a lawsuit against the US government, with claims that they were unfairly denied an opportunity to bid for a contract to supply email services to the Department of the Interior.
The Government is increasing spending on cloud computing, and although, Microsoft already has a dominant position, they are aware of the threats to the position that can come from Google.
Looking towards the future, Microsoft expects to have full support for Internet Protocol V6 (IPv6), added to the application by September 2012. It is hoped that support for the new version of the protocol will make the application even more attractive for government services. It is also expected that universal appeal will extend to the development of other versions that may be specifically designed for individual countries.
With international certifications already in place, it appears that Microsoft may be well positioned, but in the dynamic area of computing, competitors such as Google and others will not remain quiet for very long, and the landscape can become very interesting.
