Cloud Compliance Decoder

Microsoft supports varying levels of government regulations in the different government clouds. (For a discussion of the U.S. government clouds, see the illustration “Understanding Microsoft Government Clouds.”) The above chart describes which regulations apply to which of the clouds. The following list of acronyms also briefly explains each regulation.

Acronyms

While Microsoft 365 Commercial can be used by any customer and provides data centers both in the “Continental U.S.” (CONUS) and “Outside the contiguous Continental U.S.” (OCONUS), government clouds are only located in the continental United States (thus excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) comprises the industrial complex that supplies military systems and subsystems to the United States.

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) include national laboratories, observatories, and development centers. University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) are defense research entities associated with universities.