VMware is excited to announce that Horizon Cloud Service is now Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Impact Level 5 (IL5) authorized. This allows the Department of Defense and its branches to deliver virtual desktops and apps faster, more reliably, and more securely on premises and in Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure GovCloud. The announcement comes on the heels of our recent FedRAMP and StateRAMP High authorizations for Horizon Cloud Service, along with our NIAP compliance certification for Horizon 8.
What is DISA IL5 authorization?
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) created the Defense Information Systems Agency to provide basic IT guidelines for cloud service providers to follow when they want to deliver their services to the DoD. DISA grants provisional authorizations to cloud service providers after they meet robust testing and validation steps. Gaining authorization for IL5 indicates a cloud service provider’s solution meets higher sensitivity requirements for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Mission Control Information, and National Security Systems.
Overview of Horizon Cloud Service
Federal and DoD customers can now use the DISA IL5–authorized Horizon Cloud Service to connect their Horizon 8 on premises and/or Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure to deliver desktops and apps. DoD branches will now be able to use Horizon Cloud Service to deliver end-user compute services more efficiently and securely from a single control plane with simplified management and automation.
Benefits of DISA IL5 for Department of Defense customers
Here are the top three benefits DOD customers will be able to realize:
- True hybrid VDI solution: With the DISA IL5 authorization for Horizon Cloud Service, DoD agencies can use Horizon across Microsoft Azure and on-premises environments. This will help IT admins to meet use case requirements such as High Availability, Disaster Recovery, and cloud bursting.
- Virtual desktops and apps delivery with proven technology: DoD agencies can now leverage a central management control plane for VDI workloads while using proven technologies such as Unified Access Gateway, Horizon client and agent, and Horizon Connection Server across their complete VDI environments.
- Highly secure user experience: This solution delivers a great user experience based on the VMware Blast protocol providing Real-Time Audio-Video (RTAV) optimization, helping users get the most out of conferencing tools such as Skype, Teams, and Zoom.
For more technical information on this authorization, refer to our Tech Zone blog.
