Microsoft Azure
Microsoft's hyperscale cloud platform with 70+ global regions, EU Data Boundary commitment, HDS and C5 certifications, and deep Microsoft ecosystem integration.
About
Microsoft Azure is the world's second-largest cloud platform (after AWS) with over 70 regions and 400 datacenters. Launched in general availability in 2010, Azure stands out for its native integration with the Microsoft ecosystem (Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Teams, GitHub) and a dedicated European digital sovereignty programme.
EU Data Boundary
Since January 2023, Microsoft offers the EU Data Boundary: a contractual commitment to store and process Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform customer data exclusively within the EU and EEA. This guarantee covers French regions (France Central, France South) and all other European Azure regions.
European regions
Azure is present in more than 15 European countries, including France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, and Spain (announced).
Services
| Category | Key services |
|---|---|
| Compute | Virtual Machines, VM Scale Sets, Azure Functions, App Service, Azure Batch, Azure Dedicated Host |
| Containers / Kubernetes | AKS, Azure Container Apps, Container Instances, Container Registry, Azure Red Hat OpenShift |
| Object storage | Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, Data Lake Storage, Archive Storage |
| Databases | Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure PostgreSQL, Azure MySQL, Azure Redis, MongoDB, Cassandra |
| Networking | Virtual Network, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, Front Door, CDN, DDoS Protection, Firewall, Private Link |
| IAM | Microsoft Entra ID (ex-Azure AD), Entra Domain Services, Entra External ID, Entra Verified ID |
| API & Integration | Azure API Management, Logic Apps, Service Bus, Event Grid |
| AI & ML | Azure OpenAI, Azure Machine Learning, Microsoft Foundry, Azure AI Search, Azure Databricks |
| Security | Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sentinel (SIEM), Key Vault, Cloud HSM, Confidential Computing |
| Hybrid | Azure Arc, Azure Local (ex-Stack HCI), Azure Stack Hub |
European certifications
| Certification | Status |
|---|---|
| HDS (France) | ✅ Certified — France Central and France South regions |
| C5 (German BSI) | ✅ Certified |
| ENS (Spain) | ✅ Certified |
| ISO 27001:2022 / 27017 / 27018 | ✅ Certified |
| SOC 1, 2, 3 | ✅ Attestations |
| PCI-DSS | ✅ Compliant |
| SecNumCloud (ANSSI) | ❌ Not certified |
| EUCS | ⏳ Under development (ENISA) |
⚠️ Microsoft is a US entity subject to the CLOUD Act and FISA. SecNumCloud qualification requires the absence of extraterritorial non-European law obligations — incompatible with Microsoft Corporation's legal status.
Services Offered
Services are mapped to unified taxonomy categories for easy comparison across providers.
- Compute
- Kubernetes
- Object Storage
- Database
- Paas
- Caas
- Iam
- Api Gateway
Certifications & Compliance
Verified certifications and compliance attestations.
Geographic Coverage
Datacenter locations for data residency and latency considerations.
- Paris
- Marseille
- Amsterdam
- Dublin
- London
- Frankfurt
- Zurich
- Stockholm
- Oslo
- Warsaw
- Milan
- Vienna
- Brussels
- Virginia
- Texas
- Iowa
- California
- Singapore
- Tokyo
- Sydney