{"id":62761,"date":"2025-08-13T15:54:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/?p=62761"},"modified":"2025-08-13T15:59:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:59:48","slug":"microsoft-sovereign-private-cloud-combining-azure-local-and-microsoft-365-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/microsoft-sovereign-private-cloud-combining-azure-local-and-microsoft-365-local\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud: Combining Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Organizations in government, defense, and regulated industries often face a <strong>difficult trade-off<\/strong>: <strong>modern cloud capabilities<\/strong> vs. <strong>full control over data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That is why, on August 5, 2025, Microsoft has introduced the <strong>Sovereign Private Cloud<\/strong>, an <strong>integrated solution combining Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong>. With Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud, you <strong>get both the secure, local infrastructure<\/strong> and <strong>trusted Microsoft productivity tools<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-56340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8654-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What is Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud<\/strong> is a <strong>customer-operated platform<\/strong> that enables organizations to <strong>run cloud services on-premises or in disconnected environments<\/strong>. It <strong>combines Azure Local<\/strong>, a locally deployed version of Microsoft Azure, <strong>with Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong>, which brings core productivity tools into sovereign infrastructure. This solution is <strong>ideal for industries <\/strong>with<strong> strict data residency, compliance, and operational control requirements<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Use Cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Government Agencies<\/strong>: Operate critical workloads securely within national borders, even in offline or restricted environments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Defense and Infrastructure Operators<\/strong>: Maintain operational continuity and data control in field-deployed or disconnected scenarios.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Highly Regulated Industries<\/strong>: Meet strict compliance and data residency requirements while using modern collaboration tools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Local explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Azure Local<\/strong> is a <strong>version of Microsoft Azure<\/strong> that <strong>runs entirely within your own infrastructure<\/strong>, meaning <strong>on-premises or in field environments<\/strong>. It is designed for organizations that need <strong>full control over their cloud services<\/strong> due to data sovereignty, security, or connectivity restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-62766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-2.png 624w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-2-500x276.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-2-150x83.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead of using Microsoft\u2019s public cloud, <strong>Azure Local <\/strong>lets you:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Run virtual machines, containers, and networking services <strong>locally<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>Azure Arc<\/strong> to manage everything with the same tools as public Azure<\/li>\n<li>Operate in <strong>fully disconnected, intermittently connected, or hybrid environments<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Keep all data and workloads within your <strong>own jurisdiction<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Does Azure Local still feel like Azure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Yes<\/strong>. Azure Local is built on the <strong>same architecture<\/strong> as public Azure and uses Azure Arc to provide a consistent management experience. You can:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Use the Azure Portal or Azure CLI to manage your infrastructure<\/li>\n<li>Apply Azure policies for compliance and governance<\/li>\n<li>Monitor and secure workloads with Azure Monitor and Microsoft Defender for Cloud (in connected scenarios)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even when disconnected, Azure Local runs in a \u201clocal-first\u201d mode to ensure services stay operational and secure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Microsoft 365 Local explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong>\u00a0is a version of <strong>Microsoft\u2019s productivity suite<\/strong> that runs entirely within your own infrastructure. With it, you can <strong>keep sensitive data<\/strong> (like emails, documents, and chats) <strong>within national borders or disconnected environments<\/strong> due to legal, regulatory, or operational requirements.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-62770\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-3.png 624w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-3-500x276.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/08\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-08-13-Update-Microsoft-Sovereign-Private-Cloud-3-150x83.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead of using the cloud-based Microsoft 365 (like Microsoft 365 E3 or E5), Microsoft 365 Local allows you to deploy and manage\u00a0<strong>server-based versions<\/strong>\u00a0of key collaboration tools:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Exchange Server<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 for email and calendaring<\/li>\n<li><strong>SharePoint Server<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 for document management and intranet portals<\/li>\n<li><strong>Skype for Business Server<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 for secure communication<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These products run on\u00a0<strong>Azure Local<\/strong>, Microsoft\u2019s sovereign infrastructure platform, and are managed using\u00a0<strong>Azure Arc<\/strong>, which gives you cloud-like control over your local systems.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Can I use Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with Microsoft 365 Local?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Not directly.<\/strong>\u00a0Microsoft 365 Local focuses on\u00a0<strong>server-side collaboration tools<\/strong>, not the desktop Office apps themselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, you can still use\u00a0<strong>Office apps<\/strong>\u00a0(like Word, Excel, PowerPoint) in your organization by:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Installing Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel)<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>Office Professional Plus<\/strong>\u00a0locally on user devices<\/li>\n<li>Licensing these apps separately through\u00a0<strong>Microsoft Volume Licensing programs<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Connecting them to your Microsoft 365 Local servers (e.g., for email via Exchange or document storage via SharePoint)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So yes, you can use Office apps <strong>alongside Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong>, but they are\u00a0<strong>not included<\/strong>\u00a0in the Microsoft 365 Local offering itself. They must be licensed and deployed separately.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Licensing of Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Azure Local:<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Azure services<\/strong> are <strong>licensed through your<\/strong> <strong>existing Microsoft agreements<\/strong>, such as Enterprise Agreement (EA) or Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Azure Arc<\/strong> is used to manage and govern these services locally. It enables policy enforcement, automation, and monitoring.<\/li>\n<li>Some <strong>Azure Arc-enabled tools<\/strong>\u2014like Azure Monitor and Microsoft Defender for Cloud\u2014may <strong>require additional licensing<\/strong>, depending on usage.<\/li>\n<li>Azure Local <strong>must be deployed using<\/strong> <strong>validated reference architectures<\/strong> to ensure compliance and eligibility for support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft 365 Local:<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong> supports the <strong>Subscription Edition (SE)<\/strong> versions of:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Exchange<\/strong> Server SE<\/li>\n<li><strong>SharePoint<\/strong> Server SE<\/li>\n<li><strong>Skype for Business<\/strong> Server SE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>These <strong>SE versions<\/strong> are licensed under the <strong>Modern Lifecycle Policy<\/strong>, which ensures regular updates and <strong>long-term support<\/strong>. Microsoft has committed to supporting these products through <strong>at least 2035<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Microsoft 365 Local<\/strong> is <strong>not a cloud subscription<\/strong> like Microsoft 365 E3 or E5. Instead, it is a <strong>server-based deployment that runs locally<\/strong>, with <strong>licensing based on core-based or user-based models, depending on the product<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Volume Licensing Options:<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Customers can <strong>use existing licenses (with Software Assurance) or acquire new licenses through volume licensing programs<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Enterprise Agreement (EA) (for larger organizations)<\/li>\n<li>Open Value (OV) \/ Open Value Subscription (OVS) (for small to midsize businesses)<\/li>\n<li>Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>More info<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Landing Page: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/sovereignty\/cloud\">https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/sovereignty\/cloud<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Announcement: <a href=\"https:\/\/techcommunity.microsoft.com\/blog\/microsoft_365blog\/operationalizing-microsoft%E2%80%99s-sovereign-private-cloud-with-azure-local-and-micros\/4437442\">https:\/\/techcommunity.microsoft.com\/blog\/microsoft_365blog\/operationalizing-microsoft%E2%80%99s-sovereign-private-cloud-with-azure-local-and-micros\/4437442<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-56261\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8171-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ready to modernize securely?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT helps you license Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\">Contact us<\/a> to ensure compliance, optimize costs, and build a future-proof infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Organizations in government, defense, and regulated industries often face a difficult trade-off: modern cloud capabilities vs. full control over data. That is why, on August 5, 2025, Microsoft has introduced the Sovereign Private Cloud, an integrated solution combining Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local. With Microsoft Sovereign Private Cloud, you get both the secure, local [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":33016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,248,19,126,130,133,294],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-365","category-microsoft-azure","category-microsoft-enterprise-agreement","category-microsoft-exchange-server","category-microsoft-office-365","category-microsoft-sharepoint-server","category-microsoft-skype-for-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62761"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62777,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62761\/revisions\/62777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}