National Partner Clouds are independently operated cloud environments that deliver Azure and Microsoft 365 capabilities under local ownership and control.
What are National Partner Clouds?
Microsoft describes National Partner Clouds as a core component of the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud strategy. They provide independently operated cloud environments that deliver Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 capabilities under local ownership and control, letting governments and critical infrastructure providers meet stringent sovereignty, compliance, and security requirements.
The model targets scenarios where full ownership and operational independence from Microsoft is required, such as national security, public sector regulation, or geopolitical risk mitigation.
For Germany, Microsoft names Delos Cloud, operated by an SAP subsidiary and aligned with German Cloud Platform Requirements. For France, Microsoft names Bleu, a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini designed to meet SecNumCloud requirements.
Core Features
- Local ownership and operation: local entities operate the cloud under national law, while Microsoft provides the technology stack
- Isolation: the environments are physically and logically isolated
- Local personnel: management is handled by staff on the ground
- National compliance frameworks: governance follows the respective national requirements
- Azure capabilities: compute, storage, networking, and identity services
- Microsoft 365 capabilities: productivity tools including Exchange, SharePoint, and Teams
Typical Use Cases
Countries with specific sovereignty regulation
Where national law requires a domestically operated and controlled provider, a National Partner Cloud addresses that requirement directly.
Public sector and defense
Workloads where operational independence from the vendor is part of the approval criteria.
Critical infrastructure
Operators that must demonstrate resilience against foreign jurisdictional influence.
Operational transparency and auditability
Organizations that must show national regulators who operates the platform and under which rules.
Benefits
- Control over infrastructure and operations by a local entity under national law
- Compliance with national laws and certification frameworks
- Resilience against foreign jurisdictional influence
- Operational transparency and auditability
- Access to Azure and Microsoft 365 capabilities despite independent operation
Integration with innFactory
As an indirect Microsoft CSP partner, innFactory helps you determine whether a National Partner Cloud such as Delos Cloud is required for your scenario, or whether Sovereign Public Cloud within the EU Data Boundary is sufficient. Because service scope and rollout sequencing can differ from global Azure, we review the published service matrices against your target architecture together with you.
For platform design we draw on our experience with Azure Landing Zones; the legal perspective for organizations bound by professional secrecy is covered in our article on section 203 of the German Criminal Code in the public cloud.
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation on sovereign cloud options in Germany.
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
Which National Partner Clouds does Microsoft name?
The documentation lists two examples: Bleu in France, a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini designed to meet SecNumCloud requirements, and Delos Cloud in Germany, operated by an SAP subsidiary and aligned with German Cloud Platform Requirements.
Who operates a National Partner Cloud?
Local entities operate National Partner Clouds under national law. Microsoft provides the technology stack; the environment itself is physically and logically isolated, managed by local personnel, and governed by national compliance frameworks.
Which Microsoft services are available?
Although they are independently operated, National Partner Clouds deliver Microsoft Azure with compute, storage, networking, and identity services, plus Microsoft 365 productivity tools including Exchange, SharePoint, and Teams. The exact scope differs by national implementation.
Is the service scope identical to global Azure?
No. Microsoft notes that service scope, latency characteristics, and rollout sequencing can differ from those offered by global Azure. Customers should review the published service matrices for each national implementation.
Which scenarios are National Partner Clouds designed for?
Microsoft names scenarios where full ownership and operational independence from Microsoft is required, such as national security, public sector regulation, or geopolitical risk mitigation. Typical audiences are countries with strict sovereignty laws, public sector and defense workloads, and critical infrastructure providers.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
