Empowering migration: Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty comprehensive policy portfolio

Navigating the intricate landscape of regulatory compliance is a challenge for government and public sector organizations. They must balance complex regulations, stringent security requirements, and the need to coordinate across multiple agencies, often while dealing with resource constraints and legacy systems. In addition, this process of going from policy framework to Microsoft Azure policy initiatives is arduous and time consuming.

To address these pain points, Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty publishes a robust portfolio of policy initiatives that aim to simplify and accelerate the compliance journey to help meet the demanding standards of various regulatory frameworks. Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty  policy portfolio is a comprehensive set of pre-built Azure policy initiatives designed to jump-start the compliance journey. Organizations can adopt these pre-configured policy initiatives quickly and confidently, reducing the complexity and resource burden of developing custom initiatives from scratch.

In this article, we will walk through the process of creating a custom policy initiative mapped to a regulatory framework and speak to the portfolio offerings today in a bit more detail.

Understanding Azure policy definitions and initiatives

To prime the discussion, let us align a few terms and definitions. An Azure policy definition, a fundamental building block of Azure Policy, is a rule that sets specific conditions to control Azure resources. For example, an Azure policy could enforce that all virtual machines (VM) are deployed with managed disks. A policy initiative is a collection of policy definitions grouped together to achieve a broader goal. It allows you to manage and assign multiple policies as a single unit. For instance, an initiative might include policies for resource tagging, VM size restrictions, and storage account encryption, all aimed at enhancing security and compliance across your Azure environment.

Individual organizations or agencies can have their own methodologies for developing these initiatives, but for some government, public sector, or regulated industry customers, there are regulatory frameworks that are established by governing bodies that must be adhered to for cloud adoption. To unlock and unblock cloud adoption for these customers, the policy portfolio does the arduous and time-consuming groundwork of mapping Azure policies to regulatory frameworks.

Streamline your compliance process with policy portfolio

The process starts with a thorough examination of the regulatory framework we are working with, converting it into control objectives and, where applicable, corresponding data classification levels. With this list of control objectives in hand, we can begin mapping Azure policies and technical controls to each objective. After completing this initial mapping, we conduct several rounds of reviews with our local field teams and government contacts to finalize the set of policies. This process, from framework to policy initiative, can take months of effort depending on the length and complexity of the framework. Once the mapping is finalized, we proceed with generating, testing, and shipping the policy initiative. The work continues with the ongoing maintenance also being managed by Microsoft. We continuously collaborate with our customers to update and maintain the policy initiatives in the portfolio.

The policy initiatives available in the portfolio today include:

• CSA CCM V4: Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Controls Matrix Version 4 – A comprehensive cybersecurity control framework that provides structured guidelines to help organizations assess and manage cloud security risk.
• Italy ACN: Italian Agency for National Cybersecurity – Aims to protect Italy's critical infrastructure and national security interests through enhanced cybersecurity measures.
• Netherlands BIO: Netherlands' Besluit Informatiebeveiliging Overheid (Government Information Security Decree) – Establishes security measures for protecting government information systems in the Netherlands to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
• New Zealand ISM: New Zealand Information Security Manual – Provides guidelines for managing information security risks within New Zealand government agencies.
• NIS2 (Preview): Network and Information Security Directive 2 seeks to enhance the security and resilience of essential services and digital infrastructure across the European Union.
• Spain ENS: Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (National Security Framework) – Sets out security standards and requirements for protecting Spanish public sector information systems.

By leveraging this portfolio, government entities can streamline their compliance processes, ensure adherence to critical standards, and focus more on their core mission without getting bogged down by the intricacies of policy management. It's a game-changer for maintaining compliance in a highly regulated and resource-constrained environment.

Get started

Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty portfolio of policy initiatives offers invaluable support to governments and public sector organizations striving for compliance and sustainability. These initiatives ease the burden of meeting complex regulatory requirements while promoting best practices and innovation. As we continue to expand our portfolio, we look forward to collaborating not just with government and public sector customers, but also with any regulated industry seeking tailored compliance solutions. For more information, questions, or to inquire about a specific framework availability plan, please reach out to rempolicyteam@service.microsoft.com.