CJIS and the Microsoft Cloud
Bradley Schacht is a Principal Program Manager on the Microsoft Fabric product team based in Saint Augustine, FL. Bradley is a former consultant, trainer, and has coauthored 6 SQL Server and Power BI books, most recently Learn Microsoft Fabric. As a member of the Microsoft Fabric product team, Bradley works directly with customers to solve some of their most complex data problems and helps shape the future of Microsoft Fabric. Bradley gives back to the community through speaking at events such as the SQLBits, Fabric Community Conference, PASS Community Data Summit, SQL Saturdays, Code Camps, and user groups across the country including locally at the Jacksonville SQL Server User Group (JSSUG). He is a contributor on SQLServerCentral.com and blogs on his personal site, BradleySchacht.com.
Having a cloud you can trust is important. Microsoft takes security and compliance extremely seriously in both the commercial and government clouds. An August 2016 article on the Azure blog, Not All Clouds Are Created Equal, addressed this topic in detail discussing the impact of a CJIS compliant cloud on Justice and Public Safety organizations. State and local agencies in 22 states (at the time of writing) can now use the Azure Government Cloud should they require CJIS compliance.
"Do you require CJIS compliance? Check out the Microsoft cloud."
If you are a government customer it is certainly worth taking the time to read the article even if you do not require CJIS compliance as it highlights Microsoft's commitment to continually improving security and compliance for customers. Also discussed are seven essential questions you should ask to help select the right partner for your agency to meet CJIS security policy. Questions include:
- Does the cloud provider have experience with Justice and Public Safety and CJIS?
- Is the cloud provider trustworthy and experienced?
- What coverage exists for disaster recovery and reliability?
- One that comes up with my customers regularly: Where are the data centers located?
Click here to read the article. 
Additional Links: Azure CJIS Implementation Announcement Blog Post Azure Government Blog Azure Blog
