Get ahead on compliance with FedRAMP and CMMC

by Russell Rodd, Marketing Manager U.S. Public Sector, Rackspace Technology

Federal building

 

Companies must act now to meet stringent security standards of Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and prepare for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, (CMMC) compliance. Knowing the process and having the right partner can help you confidently navigate the process.

Legally required for those conducting business with the federal government, FedRAMP was created in 2011 to provide a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.

Its purpose is to enable agencies to securely adopt cloud products and services by reducing any duplicative efforts of assessing and authorizing cloud solutions. Companies must comply with FedRAMP in order to provide cloud services to federal agencies and demonstrate that they meet the highest possible standards of cloud security.

CMMC is a cybersecurity certification expected to become law in 2024. Those doing business with federal government agencies will have to comply to protect sensitive data and information from threats.

  • FedRAMP is a cybersecurity assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring program developed by the US Federal government for cloud services.
  • CMMC is a cybersecurity framework created by the Department of Defense (DoD) to secure organizations from cyber threats.
  • Both use secure protocols and processes to protect data. FedRAMP assesses and authorizes service providers to use the cloud, whereas CMMC is more comprehensive and focuses on security controls to protect networks and data.

In order to secure a contract with the government, businesses will need to meet the more rigorous security standards of the pending CMMC regulation, which surpasses the guidance-driven FedRAMP rules.

Stay ahead of the game

Companies are delaying their compliance efforts for FedRAMP and CMMC, attempting to "go it alone" and manage compliance internally. This decision to delay, however, can have serious consequences. Companies may lose trust and credibility, lose access to secure data from government agencies and contractors or incur significant fines for failing to meet standards. Worse, they may become exposed to security risks.

And they could lose out on potential contracts worth millions.

To ensure timely adoption and implementation of FedRAMP and CMMC compliance and reporting, consider working with a third-party technical partner who is already knowledgeable about government regulations. A technology partner can provide certified cloud security, help your business become compliant and secure, and save you time and money.

Fast-track CMMC compliance

Don't miss out on potential contracts; act now and be ready. Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS) can provide everything you need to get up to speed quickly and easily with FedRAMP and CMMC compliance requirements.

Whether you’re a government agency, systems integrator or independent software vendor, we can help you achieve FedRAMP compliance and be fully prepared for CMMC requirements when it becomes law. Rackspace Government Solutions helps organizations achieve assessment and authorization faster than going it alone. And RGS can wrap 70% of FedRAMP requirements.

Choose among three levels of security protocol compliance well ahead of CMMC becoming the law of the land. While others will wait, only to scramble later to find a partner, you'll be ready to go.

Rackspace Technology® is prepared for when the new CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Compliance) goes into effect. We help provide the fast-track authorization that is essential for anyone selling to government contractors, offering companies like yours FedRAMP, AWS and VMware wraparound for FedRAMP requirements, and CMMC compliance solutions.

The difference between NIST 171 guidance and CMMC compliance is clear to customers—whereas NIST 171 was “guidance,” companies must now abide by CMMC regulations or lose access to lucrative government contracts.

To help companies meet the compliance requirements quickly, Rackspace Technology® offers an off-the-shelf solution of low, medium and high-level compliance. This enables customers to comply sooner and maintain their competitive advantage.

Leverage Rackspace Government Solutions expertise

Rackspace Government Solutions offer a range of FedRAMP, StateRAMP, and CMMC-compliant security and compliance services across the design, build, migrate, operate, and optimize lifecycle for public and private entities.

Services include:

  • Multi-cloud solutions and managed services for AWS, Microsoft® Azure®, Google CloudTM, and VMware®
  • Rackspace Government Cloud on AWS and VMware
  • Authorization to Operate (ATO) on AWS and VMWare private cloud

Our AWS Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) provides secure management to meet the compliance requirements for FedRAMP and DoD Cloud Computing SRG. Get custom engineering support from Rackspace Elastic Engineering for Government to help design and customize solutions to meet your specific needs. Let us help organizations like yours maintain data security through secure enclaves in US Rackspace AWS East/West or GovCloud, while ensuring 24x7x365 U.S.-only support that delivers the highest levels of assurance and security to government organizations.

Authority to Operate (ATO)

As of this past January, Onica by Rackspace Technology is now FedRAMP authorized and has achieved an Authority to Operate (ATO) on AWS.

  • Onica is an AWS 2021 Migration Partner of the Year with 15 AWS competencies, including data and analytics, IoT, machine learning and migration, and 13 service delivery designations.
  • Rackspace Government Solutions provides you deep expertise on FedRAMP AWS Platform-as-a-Service and cloud-first mindset to help your organization modernize in a cloud-smart public sector domain.

Together Onica and Rackspace Government Solutions have the focus, speed and agility to give your agency desired outcomes on AWS. Rely on us for help with your most challenging FedRAMP AWS initiatives, such as microservices, containers, machine learning, cloud native application development and cost optimization.

Partner to accelerate your authorization

Get help with FedRAMP requirements and be ready for CMMC before it becomes law in 2024.

Working with a technology partner to gain FedRAMP and CMMC can be the difference between provides the support you need to pull together documents, answer difficult questions, get the architecture right, and communicate effectively with the appropriate agencies—all of which will save you time and money in the long run.

Let’s start your FedRAMP and CMMC journey.