This partnership between HashiCorp and Microsoft aims to provide a secure Azure reference architecture using Terraform modules that follow Microsoft's Azure Well-Architected Framework and security best practices. The focus is on post-deployment operations, including managing environment policies, additions, moves, and changes, using services such as Defender for Cloud and Azure ARC with Azure Policies. These tools enforce specific security rules and configurations across Azure resources, ensuring compliance and governance. By applying a policy set definition and utilizing Azure Policy Initiatives, users can apply a collection of related policies that align with outcomes, such as the Azure Security Benchmark, to their infrastructure. This enables the automation of policy control, including creating exceptions for time-based deployments, thereby maintaining secure and reliable infrastructure.