Cybersecurity Requirements: GCC High for Microsoft 365 & Teams

The distinctive and progressing requirements of the US government and various departments are not the same as a typical business. In order to meet the evolving requirements in the industry, Microsoft created software and services that are dedicated to serving the public sector. GCC High was created to meet the needs of government sectors that have to meet strict cybersecurity and compliance requirements. 

Who Is Eligible For GCC High?

The GCC High environment will provide compliance with the government requirements that have been set, especially those that are using cloud services. When combined with Microsoft 365 and Teams, you will be able to enjoy all the capabilities and collaboration of these services. An organization or business will also be able to enjoy the benefits that are distinctive to GCC High, including the following:

• The customer content that a business or organization receives will be rationally separated from the content that you receive in the commercial M365 software and services
• The customer content you receive will be saved and stored within the US
• Only Microsoft staff members who have been properly screened will have access to the content you collect
• GCC High will fully comply with the certifications that public sector customers will need 

In order for a US Public Sector customer to be eligible for GCC High, the business or organization will need to be classified as a government organization. The government agency can range from being an agency to an entity that has been authorized by a specific state. Eligibility can also be extended to government agencies or organizations that work with any type of data that will also fall under specific regulations and guidelines. 

GCC High Compliance

Months ago, Microsoft released updates that were designed to help businesses and organizations that use Microsoft 365 GCC High. The MSFT 365 GCC High updates that were released were aimed at helping companies comply with current and future government regulations. The recent updates were designed to provide more of the preferred features from the commercial M365 software and systems that were not always available.

Employee Collaboration

Generally, the majority of businesses will prefer to use Microsoft Teams as their main collaboration resource. In the past, these businesses have used the standard version of Microsoft 365. After the recent updates, businesses and organizations using the GCC High edition have seen an increase in productivity due to the improved capabilities and functionalities. 

Some of the changes that were made include changes to chats, team calls, and presence. Chats and team calls are easier now because calling people offsite is now allowed. Users now have the ability to communicate with others who are not a part of the same workplace. Administrators will have the ability to place restrictions on who employees can converse with. 

Improvements to Security

The recent Microsoft updates were focused on making it easier to comply with the recent regulations. The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and the Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) may have complicated the cybersecurity measures, and the updates that were made by Microsoft have been used to help companies protect their data. The updates also provided resources to IT experts so threat levels will always be monitored. 

The latest updates to MSFT 365, Teams and GCC High have given the software and systems the tools they need to be prepared for any type of environment. You can run your business or organization's daily operations more efficiently and confidently with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams and GCC High. If you want to remain compliant and fulfill government requirements with Microsoft Teams (and added telephony from CallTower Direct Routing), please click below for a free CallTower consultation: