What is Microsoft GCC and what are its different features?

Microsoft 365 GCC High is built on Microsoft Azure Government within 8 dedicated government data centers. Azure Government is currently certified to FedRAMP High, and the entire suite of GCC High services is undergoing audits to upgrade its certification to FedRAMP High. For many entities interested in GCC High, the foundation of Azure Government is especially helpful because each Microsoft employee working those environments is a US Citizen and background checked. This factor is particularly important for companies handling ITAR data. M365 GCC High includes many of the same feature sets and products of the commercially available Microsoft 365 (Microsoft 365 Commercial): SharePoint Online, Teams, Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, etc. However, full parity is not achieved. One notable example is found within Microsoft Teams for O365 GCC High. Unlike the Commercial offering of Office 365, Audio Conferencing for Teams US Government does not include dial-in phone numbers and the underlying configuration in Azure Government to enable the capability. A solution is required for direct inward dial through Direct Routing to allow users to create meetings with Teams Dial-in conference numbers.

Microsoft has three other environments for Microsoft 365. Here’s a quick explanation of each:

Microsoft 365 Commercial
This environment is built to FedRAMP Moderate standards and can be configured to meet NIST 800-171. However, this offering will not currently meet paragraphs e) and f) of DFARS 7012. It leverages the Azure Commercial stack and is generally available through all licensing outlets from retail to Enterprise Agreement.

Microsoft 365 GCC

This environment is largely equivalent to the Microsoft 365 Commercial environment, except that its data is segregated from commercial organizations. It can be configured, with appropriate licensing, to be 100% NIST 800-171 compliant. It leverages the Azure Commercial stack and is available from Cloud Solution Providers and through an Enterprise Agreement.

Microsoft 365 DoD

The DoD environment is built on Azure Government, within dedicated government data centers. The DoD environment is accessible for DoD organizations and cannot be purchased by private organizations.

I hope this information will be helpful!
Paul Wilson