What is Microsoft GCC?

Every business wants to stay safe from cyber threats, but some face higher stakes than others. Organizations within the healthcare sector, the defense industrial base (DIB), state and local governments, and other highly regulated industries are expected to completely safeguard sensitive data. While traditional best practices can reduce risk, strict cybersecurity standards often require more rigorous controls.

With the rising adoption and enforcement of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and other compliance frameworks, cloud computing platforms with enhanced security are becoming increasingly popular for organizations that need higher levels of protection. Keep reading to explore Microsoft’s high-security cloud environment and learn which kinds of organizations can benefit from using it.

What is Microsoft GCC?

Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC) is a cloud-based version of Microsoft 365 that’s designed specifically for government entities and regulated organizations that must meet heightened security and compliance requirements. While it includes core tools like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, GCC is hosted within Microsoft-operated U.S. cloud environments and governed by stricter security controls aligned with government requirements.

GCC exists to help organizations that handle sensitive information or operate under regulatory obligations reduce risk and enforce consistent security standards. It’s commonly used by organizations that work with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), operate within the Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain, or are required to comply with contractual or federal data protection requirements.

What are the main differences between GCC and GCC High?

There are two versions of Microsoft GCC available: GCC and GCC High. While both share a similar overall approach to enhanced cybersecurity and compliance standards, they differ significantly in what data is best suited to each platform. Here are three of the major areas of distinction that will influence your organization’s decision between Microsoft GCC and GCC High.

1. Compliance support

Depending on your industry’s compliance requirements, you may only have one viable option between Microsoft GCC and GCC High. Each version supports different types of regulatory standards based on the sensitivity of a company’s information. Additionally, certain frameworks often contain different tiers to address increasing levels of security needs. Regardless of which option is chosen, it’s critical to note that using one of the Microsoft Government tenants does not make your organization compliant by default.

Microsoft GCC supports compliance requirements such as:

• Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate
• Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS)
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 1075
• Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)
• Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Requirements Guide (SRG) L2

Microsoft GCC High is designed to support stricter versions of compliance frameworks, like:

• FedRAMP High
• International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
• DFARS
• CMMC
• DISA SRG L4

2. Data storage locations

With GCC, your data is stored in U.S.-based Microsoft data centers and operates within the Azure Commercial infrastructure. Although it operates within the same underlying commercial infrastructure as enterprise tenants, GCC includes additional isolation requirements to keep information separate from other Microsoft 365 data. On the other hand, GCC High environments and processes are fully isolated within the Azure Government cloud on dedicated servers, providing a higher level of assurance to customers with regulated workloads.

3. Personnel requirements

One of the most important and often misunderstood differences between Microsoft GCC and GCC High involves which internal staff members are allowed to access, manage, and support the environment. For both GCC and GCC High environments, Microsoft employs screened support staff, but the eligibility requirements differ significantly between the two. GCC High, however, enforces stricter internal personnel requirements. All administrative access, backend support, and operational management must be handled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Is the GCC user experience the same as regular Microsoft 365?

For your company’s end users, using programs within Microsoft GCC feels very similar or identical to using standard Microsoft 365 options. Sending emails, joining Teams meetings, and managing other everyday tasks all work the same way. GCC operates within a dedicated, isolated portion of Microsoft’s U.S. cloud ecosystem, with additional security controls implemented behind the scenes.

Although GCC High operates in a completely separate environment, Microsoft strives to maintain a similar user-facing experience between commercial Microsoft 365 and GCC High. Still, a noticeable difference between the GCC High experience and others is its pacing of new product releases. Brian Schlechter, Director of IT at Bit-Wizards, explains that GCC High users often see enhancements at a much later date.

“Everything that’s in the commercial or GCC version of Microsoft 365 will eventually get to GCC High, but it usually takes a year or sometimes 18 months before a new feature or program becomes available for GCC High users,” he says. “Microsoft’s team has to run each enhancement through several testing and approval processes, so the implementation is a bit slower because of those security standards.”

Another notable distinction is how aggressively compliance is enforced when systems fall out of compliance. In GCC High, devices must be compliant at all times. If a device has outdated software from being turned off for an extended period, your access may be temporarily restricted. These policies may be configurable by each organization, but Schlechter mentions they highlight the rigid nature of high-compliance environments.

“With GCC High, organizations likely have policies in place so that their users can’t even log in to their computers if they miss a recent update,” he says. “These security precautions can prevent potential threats from turning into full-blown data breaches, which helps justify the fact that they often create more work for your users and IT administrators trying to restore access to locked accounts.”

What about the user experience for IT admins?

For your IT administrators, the interfaces and tools will feel familiar, but the operational experience is more complex. GCC and GCC High management portals resemble those in commercial tenants, but security features like multifactor authentication (MFA) are often enabled by default and may not be fully configurable. Schlechter emphasizes that one of the biggest differences is the timeline and pricing for GCC High licenses.

“I can provision a license for Microsoft 365 within 10 minutes tops, but getting approved for and receiving a GCC High license could take 24 hours to process—and each one will cost significantly more than its enterprise counterpart because of the cost it takes to stand up dedicated resources in secure areas,” he says. “You’re going with GCC High because you have to meet certain security requirements, and the policies in place make it harder to access for malicious reasons.”

Administrative access is also more tightly controlled compared to enterprise environments. In standard Microsoft 365 tenants, several IT employees may be granted global administrator permissions, provided they’re qualified to act in this capacity. With GCC and GCC High, Schlechter notes that privileged roles are often segmented or assigned when absolutely necessary to minimize the impact of a potential breach.

Program integrations are another area of noticeable difference, especially within GCC High. Commercial tenants typically have unlimited options when it comes to integrating outside services. For GCC tenants, Schlechter explains that administrators must use pre-approved Cloud Service Offerings (CSOs), such as backup programs and other third-party services listed with the FedRAMP Marketplace.

Should my organization use GCC or GCC High?

Because compliance requirements can and do change frequently, Schlechter says the easiest way to determine which option is best for your organization is by filling out an application for Microsoft Government eligibility to request general validation. The form collects information about your company and point of contact, as well as signed contracts and other supplemental documentation that demonstrates the role your organization serves in relation to government entities.

Ultimately, choosing to migrate to Microsoft GCC and GCC High depends on the compliance standards your business is expected to follow. If your team is a federal agency or works within the DIB and currently manages data that contains CUI, you’ll likely be required to use Microsoft GCC High. If your company has any reasonable likelihood of working with CUI in the future, Schlechter recommends taking a proactive approach and opting for GCC High if you’re deemed eligible.

“If your organization qualifies for GCC High but could choose Microsoft GCC, we’d most likely advise you to go for the high-security option to avoid limiting your business opportunities down the road,” he says. “You may not need it today, but you never know when a project or contract may come to your door that requires GCC High. If you wait until that project comes, it’ll cost your business even more time and money to migrate from GCC to GCC High, and you could still miss out on your eligibility because of how long it would take.”

Microsoft GCC is commonly recommended for municipalities, local and state government agencies, and other businesses that must comply with relatively lower compliance standards. It’s currently not a requirement, as many of these organizations already use Microsoft 365 Commercial tenants. However, Schlechter emphasizes that this could change in the future, and you should carefully consider the decision to switch to GCC because of the resources required for a full tenant migration.

“Unless you have a clear reason why your business needs to use Microsoft GCC, it’s best to stay with your current plan and follow cybersecurity best practices,” he says. “The cost difference between commercial and GCC licenses is minimal, but if you’re paying to conduct a full-scale migration from where you’re at, you need to look at every option before deciding what the best path forward is.”

Choose Bit-Wizards Managed IT for a smoother experience in Microsoft GCC

Selecting one of Microsoft Government’s offerings is a major decision that shouldn’t be made lightly, and knowing which one is best for your business is critical to your long-term success. Additionally, maintaining your chosen tenant accounts and infrastructure is a whole other issue once you get through the migration portion. Whether you’re validating your eligibility, planning a migration, or preparing for future compliance requirements, Schlechter says working with a managed service provider (MSP) like Bit-Wizards can simplify and enhance the process.

“Security is always a sliding bar—the easier things are, the less secure they are—which means getting your organization up to whatever standards apply can take a lot of effort,” he illustrates. “With Bit-Wizards on your side, you can find the balance your business needs between the two aspects while also gaining an understanding that the rules simply must be met. It’s going to be a steep hill to climb, but we can help you along the way and long after you’re situated in GCC or GCC High.”

Ready to equip your organization with high-security IT resources and support from a team of experts focused on security, compliance, and operational efficiency? Get in touch.