Christine Thropp
Toni Townes-Whitley, president of U.S. regulated industries at Microsoft, has described how the company helped agencies increasingly pursue digital transformation efforts as the COVID-19 pandemic tested the government's mission resiliency.
She wrote in a blog entry posted Monday that the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense implemented Microsoft offerings, such as Bing Maps Platform and Azure Government, to support continued operations.
"Our teams helped the VA deploy AI-based chatbots, so veterans have 24/7 access to COVID-19 testing, scheduling telehealth visits, refilling prescriptions and even assistance payments," Townes-Whitley said.
She noted in another highlight that DoD employees used the Microsoft-built commercial virtual remote platform as an alternative work environment to hold meetings, calls and functions securely.
The Small Business Administration also applied zero trust approach through Microsoft’s cloud security technologies to ensure protection for almost 20K remote workers.
Townes-Whitley provided an update on the offerings Microsoft is continuously working on to assist agencies in adjusting to new work demands. The company has been updating its Azure Government to accommodate Secret and Top Secret requirements, and developing Microsoft 365 Government to support the defense industrial base, DoD and other government agencies. Microsoft also announced that Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform have earned provisional authority for DoD Impact Level 4, certifying that the cloud services are compliant with the said requirements.
"At Microsoft, we are committed to supporting our government customers with trusted technology solutions and people-centric partnerships, which help advance continuity of services and the highest mission resiliency as we build into the future together."
