Microsoft Advances Sovereign Private Cloud with Secure AI and Fully Disconnected Capabilities
Enhancements to Azure Local, Microsoft 365 Local and Foundry Local strengthen digital sovereignty by enabling secure, resilient operations across connected and fully disconnected environments.
Microsoft has announced new sovereign private cloud capabilities that enable governments and regulated industries to run advanced artificial intelligence (AI), productivity tools and cloud infrastructure securely, including in fully disconnected environments.
The development strengthens Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud portfolio by giving organizations greater control over how and where their data, AI models and operations run, while maintaining consistent governance, security and compliance standards. The new capabilities support customers operating across connected, intermittently connected and fully disconnected environments, helping them balance innovation with sovereignty and resilience requirements.
Key developments include:
• Azure Local disconnected operations – allowing organizations to run mission-critical infrastructure locally with Azure governance and policy controls, even without cloud connectivity.
• Microsoft 365 Local disconnected – enabling core productivity workloads, including Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and Skype for Business Server, to operate entirely within a customer’s sovereign boundary.
• Foundry Local with support for large AI models – bringing modern infrastructure and large, multimodal AI models into fully disconnected sovereign environments, allowing AI inferencing to run locally on customer-controlled hardware.
Together, these capabilities deliver a unified sovereign private cloud stack, spanning infrastructure, productivity and AI, designed to ensure operational continuity, protect sensitive data and maintain strict regulatory compliance, even in highly secure or isolated environments.
As countries across the Middle East accelerate national digital transformation agendas and AI strategies, digital sovereignty has become a strategic priority for governments and key sectors including defense, energy, financial services and critical infrastructure.
Naim Yazbeck, President, Microsoft Middle East and Africa, said: “Across the Middle East, we are working closely with governments and leading organizations that are driving ambitious national digital and AI strategies.
These new Microsoft Sovereign Cloud capabilities represent an important step forward, enabling our customers to harness advanced AI and cloud innovation while maintaining full control over their data, infrastructure and operations. By supporting connected and fully disconnected environments alike, Microsoft is helping the region build resilient, future-ready digital ecosystems aligned with national priorities for sovereignty, security and economic diversification.”
Microsoft continues to invest in trusted cloud and AI infrastructure across the Middle East, supporting public and private sector organizations as they modernize services, strengthen cybersecurity postures and unlock new opportunities through responsible AI adoption.
With these enhancements to Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, organizations in the region can innovate confidently, choosing the level of connectivity and control that best aligns with their operational, regulatory and strategic requirements.
