Microsoft is extending its Defender for Cloud service to cover the Google Cloud Platform in an effort to simplify security for organisations utilising multi-cloud strategies.
The move will see all three of the world’s largest public cloud providers protected under the same Microsoft solution for posture management and threat protection, with AWS and Azure already under its scope.
Support for Google Cloud will come with recommendations for users on how to configure their Google environments to meet key security standards, such as Centre for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks, protection for critical workloads running in Google Cloud, and more.
For years, cloud providers have focused on a model of securing themselves alone, however with the massive shift to hybrid and multi-cloud business models this approach is becoming less feasible.
In a joint survey with pollster firm Harris, Microsoft found that 83% of enterprises’ security teams identify managing multi-cloud complexity as their most pressing issue for 2022.
Considering 92% of enterprises surveyed in a recent Flexera report on cloud usage said they have a multi-cloud strategy, this appears to be a key issue facing the entire cloud industry.
As well as Google Cloud support, Microsoft is launching a public version of the permissions management platform it acquired from CloudKnox in July last year.
It is also bringing enhanced data analysis features to Microsoft’s Sentinel application alongside new identity management, compliance, and payment capabilities for Azure.
Vasu Jakkal, corporate vice president for security, compliance, and identity at Microsoft, said: “Organisations around the world are forced to confront sophisticated ransomware and nation state attacks even as they’re continually evolving with stricter compliance requirements.
“These new features and offerings are designed to secure the foundations of hybrid work and digital transformation.”
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