Most DoD contractors are further behind than they think, and closer than they fear. Here is exactly how we get you there.
Fixed-price. Five steps. Every deliverable defined before work begins.
Before any assessment work begins, we identify which assets process, store, transmit, or receive CUI and categorize them against the CMMC Scoping Guide. Assets that are properly excluded do not need to be assessed or remediated. Getting the boundary right at the start directly controls the cost of everything that follows.
Working within the defined scope, we evaluate your security posture against all 320 assessment objectives across 110 practices, using the same examine, interview, and test methodology a C3PAO assessor will apply. A practice with four objectives where one is not met is still a failing practice. The goal is to find every gap before it finds you.
Findings and remediation are captured in a single combined document, objective by objective. For each gap, the document records assessment status, a description of what is missing, the corrective action required, the responsible party, and a target completion date. This is exactly what your C3PAO assessor needs to see.
The gap assessment frequently surfaces information that was not available at the start. A system that appeared in scope may prove isolatable. A system no one mentioned may turn out to touch CUI. We revisit the boundary in light of the findings and lock the final perimeter. Scope reduction here means fewer controls to remediate and fewer assets the assessor evaluates.
Phase 1 closes with a specific, sequenced implementation guide for closing every item in the POAM. Organized by priority and dependency, the Remediation Plan accounts for your environment, your resources, and the distinction between in-house remediation and virtualized enclave options. It is the document that makes Phase 2 executable.
Phase 1 ends with a clear picture and a concrete plan. The services below walk you through every remaining stage, from closing gaps to standing in front of the assessor.
We guide the execution of the Remediation Plan whether you remediate in-house, through your existing MSP, or via a CMMC-compliant virtualized enclave. The right path depends on your environment and resources, both of which are clearly understood by the end of Phase 1. No gap gets marked closed until it will hold up under the same scrutiny the assessor will apply.
The most consistent C3PAO finding is not a missing technical control — it is missing or misaligned documentation. We deliver a complete, customized policy set across all 14 domains, including a System Security Plan built around your actual environment.
Before the official assessment, a contracted CMMC assessor runs the same methodology, the same 320 objectives, and the same pass/fail standard as the real thing. Findings discovered in a mock can be closed. Findings at the C3PAO cannot.
When the C3PAO assessment takes place, we are there. We present and defend your compliance package, provide context on implementation decisions, and communicate your environment in the language assessors use.
CMMC certification is valid for three years. Controls drift. Configurations change. Staff turns over. Our monthly engagement model keeps your compliance posture active between certification cycles so the next assessment is a formality, not a fire drill.
The official FAR clause lists 15 safeguards, but CMMC documentation often references 17 practices. Here is why:
CMMC inherited the DoD’s earlier mapping from the DFARS 252.204-21 “Basic Safeguarding” table, where two of the FAR requirements were split into multiple CMMC practice IDs during modeling. They are not additional requirements—just a structural carryover from the original DoD-to-NIST mapping exercise.