Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Confidential Virtual Machines with Ubuntu Pro enabled Now Available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace

Microsoft Azure customers worldwide now gain access to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential Virtual Machines (VMs) with Ubuntu Pro enabled to take advantage of the scalability, reliability, and agility of Azure to drive application development and shape business strategies. 

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, today announced the availability of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs with Ubuntu Pro enabled in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. Canonical’s customers can now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform, with streamlined deployment and management.

Canonical is renowned for its leadership in open-source software and its commitment to providing secure, reliable, and high-performance solutions. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs with Ubuntu Pro enabled brings together the advanced security and compliance features of Ubuntu Pro with the enhanced data protection capabilities of Azure’s Confidential VMs. This new offering is ideal for sensitive and regulated workloads, ensuring robust data protection at run time, at rest, and in transit. 

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• Expanded Security Maintenance: Provides up to 12 years of security updates, ensuring long-term support for enterprise applications.
• Kernel Livepatch: Enables run-time application of kernel patches without rebooting, minimizing downtime.
• Enhanced Package Security: Extends security maintenance to over 25,000 packages, including critical applications such as Apache Kafka, NGINX, MongoDB, Redis, and PostgreSQL, allowing teams to consume a vast collection of open-source software while meeting their internal security, governance, and compliance requirements.
• Landscape: Automates security management tasks across your Ubuntu estate, available on request, streamlining control and security
• Compliance and hardening: Reduce your operational risk with certified automation tools for hardening and compliance profiles. Includes FIPS 140 certified components, with optional CIS hardening profile and DISA STIG. These features will be added as they become available.

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs with Ubuntu Pro enabled give you back control over the security guarantees of your VMs. It enables you to run your workload within a logically isolated hardware-rooted execution environment that can protect your code and data at run-time, from vulnerabilities within the host privileged system software, including the hypervisor. As we announce today the availability of Ubuntu Pro entitlements for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs, we empower our customers on Azure to confidently adopt confidential computing for their enterprise-grade deployments, ensuring long-term security maintenance support across the stack.

“Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs with Ubuntu Pro enabled joining the Microsoft Azure Marketplace enhances security and compliance capabilities. Enterprises can now easily deploy and manage sensitive workloads, utilizing Azure’s expansive ecosystem and streamlined deployment options. This collaboration underscores Canonical’s and Microsoft’s dedication to providing secure open-source software and scalable solutions that empower Azure customers to innovate and risk mitigate continued business growth.” Alexander Gallagher, VP of Cloud at Canonical.

“Microsoft Azure Marketplace welcomes Ubuntu 24.04 LTS confidential VMs with Ubuntu Pro enabled, which joins a cloud marketplace landscape predicted to grow revenue 500% from 2022 to 2025,” said Jake Zborowski, General Manager, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp. “Thanks to Azure Marketplace and partners like Canonical, customers can do more with less by increasing efficiency, buying confidently, and spending smarter.”

The Azure Marketplace is an online market for buying and selling cloud solutions certified to run on Azure. The Azure Marketplace helps connect companies seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions with partners who have developed solutions that are ready to use.

Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, provides open-source security, support and services. Our portfolio covers critical systems, from the smallest devices to the largest clouds, from the kernel to containers, from databases to AI. With customers that include top tech brands, emerging startups, governments and home users, Canonical delivers trusted open source for everyone. Learn more at https://canonical.com/

For more information and to access these offerings, please visit:

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Confidential VM with Ubuntu Pro (including FIPS preview): https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/canonical.0001-com-ubuntu-pro-confidential-vm-jammy?tab=Overview
• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Confidential VM with Ubuntu Pro:
  https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/canonical.ubuntu-24_04-lts?tab=PlansAndPrice (Note: The Confidential VM with Ubuntu Pro is available as a specific plan option within this offering)