Open source is not only behind many of the technology industry’s most significant innovations, but it is also pervasive across the U.S. government. For more than a decade, Red Hat has been working closely with federal government customers to help them embrace open source technologies. To help meet their specific needs, Red Hat has been a staunch supporter of security innovations - from SELinux to OpenSCAP and more - and certifications that help meet the needs of sensitive environments. In fact, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is currently in evaluation for Common Criteria Certification. This will mark our 16^th Common Criteria Certification, reinforcing our place at the top of the list of the industry’s most certified operating systems.

As a result, Red Hat has long been a trusted partner for government agencies. Red Hat solutions are currently used by every U.S. federal cabinet-level agency and agencies in all 50 states. And, you may have seen NASA JPL Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Tom Soderstrom’s keynote at Red Hat Summit 2016, or recently read about the General Service Administration’s successful Data to Decisions (D2D) Program, based on Red Hat technologies. We’re excited to deliver the innovative technologies that are behind compelling projects like these, and work with government agencies to help them embrace hybrid cloud computing as part of the U.S. federal government’s Cloud First policy.

Given all of that, I’m happy to share news today aimed at bringing more hybrid cloud choice to our public sector customers. Red Hat Cloud Access is now available for Microsoft Azure Government, and includes: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.7+; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2+; Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform; Red Hat JBoss Middleware; and Red Hat Gluster Storage. And, Red Hat CloudForms customers can now add Azure Government to the growing list of public and private cloud and virtualized infrastructure resources they can manage at no additional cost.

With today’s news, Red Hat customers can move eligible Red Hat subscriptions from their datacenter to both Azure and Azure Government, offering the extended flexibility afforded by the hybrid cloud. And, with the ability to use Red Hat subscriptions consistently across their deployments, including Azure Government, customers can benefit from same level of security, control and management Red Hat offers across the datacenter’s four footprints.

Red Hat Cloud Access enables customers to maintain their existing support relationship with Red Hat, and the benefits of a Red Hat subscription, while taking advantage of the benefits of Azure Government.

We’re happy to continue our collaboration with Microsoft to help customers across industries embrace hybrid cloud, and today’s news marks the latest milestone.

Tomorrow, we’re hosting DevNation Federal, talking about how federal agencies are using open source to transform their organizations. Join us there or at the 2016 Red Hat Government Symposium on Nov. 2 in Pentagon City, Va., to hear more about Red Hat Cloud Access for Azure Government, or learn more about Red Hat Cloud Access.