What does it mean to be FedRAMP authorized?

To quote the General Services Administration directly, the federal agency that oversees the program: "The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to [cyber]security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services."

Leveraging an ecosystem of service providers called 3rd Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs), a cloud company must:

• meet the many requirements for application and steps along the authorization process
• be externally assessed by a 3PAO, and 
• be found to have acceptable cybersecurity control implementation by both a federal agency sponsor and the FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO)

The organization can then listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace, where federal agencies, system integrators, or other FedRAMP authorized companies can use your company's cloud services. The authorization itself is called a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO).

Why would you want to pursue a FedRAMP P-ATO?

• The public sector cloud market has grown 20% year over year since 2019, and exceeded $10 billion last year.
• The high barrier to entry created by FedRAMP authorization is a natural defensive moat; since 2017 only a small % of cloud companies have become FedRAMP authorized. 
• Many federal agencies are eager to leverage the cost savings of cloud services and adopt new technologies.
• The FedRAMP Authorization Act mandates achieving authorization when selling cloud services to the federal government.

What makes the process so difficult?

 FedRAMP authorization is much more complex than SOC 2 validation, and the journey is much more involved than a few operational tweaks and configuration changes. Common major roadblocks include:

• Technical risks that require re-design of enterprise systems
• Hiring practices are not in line with requirements
• Business and customer support processes require painful re-engineering, usually in a rush before assessment

Why should you invest in an advisor?

Approximately 30-40% of companies abandon their FedRAMP journey after spending hundred of thousands or even millions of dollars, resulting in precious wasted capital, time, and employee morale.

Framing your FedRAMP journey with strong business case analysis is an often bypassed critical step.

It is difficult to find an advisor providing services before your FedRAMP journey begins. That's where Vanaheim comes in.