Windows 365 Government - how to buy

Article
04/25/2023

In response to the unique and evolving requirements of the United States public sector, Microsoft has created specific Windows 365 Government environments for US public sector customers. This service description provides an overview of the environments and more information on how to buy. It's recommended that you read this service description alongside other Windows 365 service descriptions.

What’s Windows 365 Government?

Windows 365 Government is tailored for US government agencies and contractors sponsored to hold controlled, unclassified information. Delivered through unique environments that meet the most stringent of compliance requirements, Windows 365 Government is a cloud offer for US government customers that matches as closely as possible the features and capabilities of Windows 365 commercial cloud enterprise offerings.

What makes Windows 365 Government different from Windows 365 for enterprise offerings?

Windows 365 Government is uniquely designed to address the compliance requirements of US government agencies in four key areas:

Exclusive community: Government data centers are available only to government agencies or departments—or commercial companies that have been authorized to hold and process-controlled information on behalf of the US government.

Screened personnel: Access to your organization's customer content is restricted to screened Microsoft personnel who are US citizens and have passed required background checks.

Third-party audits: All of the infrastructure is audited by a certified third-party auditor who provides a security assessment report or attestation letter used by federal agencies to issue an authorization to operate (ATO).

Content storage: Data is stored within the continental United States with compliant infrastructure. The following table summarizes Windows 365 Government environments and commitments.

Offerings	Commitments
Windows 365 Government GCC	FedRamp High, DFARS, CJIS, IRS 1075, DISA SRG L2
Windows 365 Government GCC High	FedRamp High, ITAR, DFARS, DISA SRG L4 controls

For more information about Microsoft security and compliance accreditation, visit the Microsoft Trust Center.

Windows 365 Government eligibility and validation

Windows 365 Government is available to eligible government customers and nongovernment organizations sponsored to hold or process controlled information. The eligibility criteria for these two categories of customers is consistent across the Microsoft Government Cloud.

Both GCC and GCC High offerings are available to any customer that is eligible for the Microsoft Government Cloud. Service availability and price differ, and GCC remains the hero offering for all customers that don't hold FedRAMP High or DoD controlled unclassified information (CUI).

An eligible government customer is defined by one the following:

A federal agency, defined as a bureau, office, agency, department, or other entity of the U.S. Government.
A state/local entity, defined as one of the following:
- Any agency of a state or local government in the U.S.
- Any U.S. County, borough, commonwealth, city, municipality, town, township, special purpose district, or other similar type of governmental instrumentality established by the laws of a customer’s state and located within the customer’s state’s jurisdiction and geographic boundaries.
- The District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
A tribal entity, defined as a federally recognized tribal entity eligible for funding and services from the U.S. Department of Interior by virtue of its status as an Indian tribe, or, in Alaska, a native village or Alaska Regional Native corporation.

Nongovernment organizations who hold the following types of data and can provide the listed proofs qualify for the Microsoft Government Cloud validation process:

A commercial private entity with data that is subject to regulations. Accepted government data types include:

International Traffic in Arms (ITAR)
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Department of Defense (DoD) Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI)
Department of Energy (DoE) UCNI
Criminal Justice Information (CJI)
Department of Defense Impact Level Data
Other types of data that require Microsoft 365 Government

An international commercial entity may qualify, though regulated data may be required to purchase the service through their US subsidiary.

Proof of membership in one of the groups listed above will be required for access to Windows 365 Government offerings.

What sales channels are available for Windows 365 Government?

The following table shows the options that can accommodate the needs of each segment.

Item	GCC	GCC High
SKU	Gov for government	GCC-High
Channel	EA (LSP), AOS-G, CSP	EA (LSP), AOS-G

How do I buy Windows 365 Government?

Follow these steps to purchase Windows 365 Government licenses:

Complete and submit the form for GCC or GCC High to validate your organization’s eligibility here if you're a new Microsoft customer). Existing customers with a Microsoft 365 GCC or GCC High tenant don't require an eligibility check, and they can directly contact their desired licensing partner to add Windows 365 Government onto their existing agreement.
Work with the Microsoft account team or a qualified partner to place an order. Customers can purchase Windows 365 for US Government licenses only through select partners.

LSPs GCC and GCC High (+500 seats)

CDW
Connection (formerly PC Connection)
Crayon
Dell
Hewlett Packard
Insight
Minburn Technology Group
PCM (also owns En Pointe Technologies)
SHI
SoftwareOne
Softchoice
Zones International

AOS-G partners GCC (under 500 seats)

American Technical Services
Catapult Systems, Inc.
Imager Software, Inc. d.b.a ISC
Permuta Technologies, Inc.
Valcom Salt Lake City, LC dba VCLM
VC3, INC

Note

All Microsoft licensing solution providers (LSPs) in the preceding list can transact both GCC and GCC High through Enterprise Agreement (EA) to create the customer price sheet (CPS). Organizations that don’t qualify for EA can purchase GCC licenses through the listed AOS-G partners or CSP partner program.

If you work with a CSP partner, contact them or find a CSP.