Microsoft grows cloud offerings with 'Teams' release

Just a month after launching its cloud based Microsoft 365 Government, the software and cloud giant has taken another step to broaden its offerings through the launch of Microsoft Teams for government agencies.

The company calls Microsoft Teams a “hub for teamwork” and it brings together chats, meetings, calls, files and apps into a single place, dubbed a “chat-based workspace.”

Users can access SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Word and Excel.

Teams has been available on the Government Community Cloud and is now available on GCC High and Defense Department environments. This allows the Microsoft offering to meet security and compliance requirements of government agencies.

Teams, Microsoft 365, Outlook Mobile iOS and Android and other product and cloud offerings are part of Microsoft’s efforts to differentiate itself from competitors. The company says that new capabilities around advanced threat protection for the Government Community Cloud are in the works.

These moves by Microsoft come as the government and DOD in particular look for ways to modernize their IT infrastructure and move more applications to the cloud.

A major procurement on the horizon is the $8.2 billion Defense Enterprise Office Solution contract to put DOD’s email, calendar collaboration services into the cloud. On the surface, Microsoft Teams would seem to be tailor-made for DEOS.

A draft request for quotations came out in late January and a final solicitation could be out by the end of March.

Microsoft declined to comment directly about DEOS, but a spokesman cited the company's 40-year relationship with DOD and a track record of bringing solution to the military.

"These offerings (Microsoft Teams) are just one further step we're making in helping to meet their diverse set of mission goals as they look to move to the cloud," the spokesman said.