Implementing Azure Defender for Cloud

When to Use

• When enabling comprehensive security monitoring across Azure subscriptions
• When implementing cloud workload protection for VMs, containers, SQL, storage, and Key Vault
• When compliance requirements demand continuous assessment against regulatory frameworks
• When building adaptive security controls that respond to detected threats
• When centralizing security findings from Azure-native and hybrid workloads

Do not use for non-Azure workload protection exclusively (use AWS Security Hub or GCP SCC), for application-level security testing (use Azure DevOps DAST/SAST), or for identity-specific protection (use Microsoft Defender for Identity).

Prerequisites

• Azure subscription with Contributor or Security Admin role
• Azure Policy enabled for compliance assessment
• Log Analytics workspace for diagnostic data collection
• Azure Arc connected machines for hybrid server protection
• Pricing tier set to Standard for Defender plans (free tier provides CSPM only)