What Is CMMC as a Service and Why Is it Important?

Businesses that wish to conduct contract work with the Department of Defense must remain CMMC compliant. Unfortunately, meeting CMMC requirements is expensive and time consuming, and mistakes are often made that don’t pass CMMC audits. However, CMMC as a service streamlines the process for businesses, helping them achieve cybersecurity compliance faster, cheaper, and without the added headache.

Read on to learn more about CMMC as a service and how it can help prospective companies reach their desired standards. This article details the following topics:

What is CMMC as a service?
Why is CMMC as a service essential?
Who needs CMMC services?
How BL King Consulting can help

What Is CMMC as a Service?

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is an assessment framework and certification procedure created by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure defense contractors comply with updated security requirements and are capable of protecting sensitive defense information from complex cyberattacks. Defense contractors that work with the DoD are expected to safeguard many forms of controlled unclassified information (CUI), such as legal documents, contracts, technical blueprints, sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII), unclassified controlled technical information (UCTI), confidential business information (CBI), and any other type of information that is considered sensitive by the government.

Meeting CMMC standards can be arduous, expensive, and challenging, which is why CMMC as a service exists. Providers that offer CMMC as a service help businesses meet the standard requirements by taking many responsibilities off their shoulders. CMMC providers have extensive knowledge of the CMMC process and procedures, allowing your business to reach compliance faster and at a fraction of the cost.

Why Is CMMC as a Service Important?

Compliance with CMMC is essential for many businesses that rely on defense contracts for work. Failing to meet compliance standards can prevent a company from obtaining contracted work with the DoD, costing them massive potential profit loss. Businesses that cannot meet CMMC requirements are also liable to sustain a blow to their reputation, as it can make them appear less capable and unprofessional.

CMMC as a service is incredibly important, as it allows businesses to meet their desired standards and remains on the DoD contract supply chain. Not only do CMMC services ensure that your business is adhering to its specific guidelines, but they provide numerous other benefits, such as the following:

Peace of Mind: Hiring a CMMC compliance service guarantees your business meets its desired standards. This can bring peace of mind by removing the possibility of failing a CMMC audit. Knowing that actions have been taken to reach CMMC compliance—and executed correctly—can be a huge relief.
Cost Effective: Performing all the actions required to meet CMMC compliance can quickly become expensive, costing businesses tens of thousands of dollars and potentially reaching the six-figure range. While there is a service cost, CMMC as a service can significantly reduce total expenses.
Diverts Resources: It takes considerable workforce and effort to achieve CMMC compliance. Rather than using internal resources, CMMC as a service takes care of most of the configuration for your company, allowing other employees to divert their attention elsewhere, increasing general productivity.
Reduced Compliance Time: Reaching CMMC compliance is not a quick matter. There are many guidelines, contracts, and regulations to navigate, and completion time varies depending on the business and the specific requirements they must meet. As experienced experts, providers that offer CMMC as a service can drastically reduce the time it would take to achieve CMMC compliance. The quicker your company can prove its qualifications, the sooner it can begin conducting business and fulfilling contracted work for the DoD, increasing profits.

Who Needs CMMC as a Service?

CMMC compliance is necessary for any contractor, company, or organization doing business with the DoD, including prime contractors, who engage with the DoD directly, as well as subcontractors who assist with the execution of contract fulfillment. However, not every business or organization requires the same level of certification. Whereas the original CMMC model relied on a five-scale guideline, CMMC 2.0 depends upon a simplified three-scale maturity level.

As the latest Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification version, CMMC 2.0 provides improved protection for Controlled Unclassified Information. Learn more about CMMC 2.0 and why it’s crucial.

Learn More About CMMC 2.0

CMMC Level 1 (Foundational): Level 1 strictly applies to companies that protect Federal Contract Information (FCI). It pertains to the 17 controls relating to FAR 52.204-24, including safeguarding contractor information. By doing so, it limits access to protected information to authorized users and ensures the safety of contractor data.
CMMC Level 2 (Advanced): Level two pertains to companies working with CUI and correlates with 14 different control families and 110 security controls created by the NIST. The compliance approach may differ depending on the sensitivity of handled information, with some requiring assessments from a C3PAO and others being allowed self-assessments by executives.
CMMC Level 3 (Expert): Level 3 focuses on minimizing the chance of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). Companies operating under this level typically work on some of the DoD’s most important programs. Its requirements shall rely upon 130 controls, including those from levels 1 and 2, along with 20 more from NIST 800-172.

Take Advantage of CMMC Compliance Services With BL King Consulting

Are you looking for a way to ensure you meet all the CMMC compliance requirements? Consider partnering with BL King Consulting.

As a CMMC compliance service provider, we aim to help your company meet all the requirements to continue getting contracts with the federal government. Being established industry experts, we know how expensive and time-consuming achieving CMMC compliance can be for companies. For that reason, our team works diligently to find innovative, cost-effective solutions for each of our clients, saving them valuable effort and funds that they can reinvest in their business. But every client is different, and a compliance strategy that works for one may not suit another. That’s why we deliver tailored solutions to meet their specific needs.

Our consulting services adhere to a specified CMMC compliance checklist to ensure your company’s specific needs are being met. These services include conducting a gap analysis, writing an executive analysis report, creating a control compliance matrix, providing managed security solutions, and more.

Achieving CMMC compliance can be challenging, especially with such an extensive list of requirements, but it’s not impossible. Contact BL King Consulting today to schedule a gap analysis and learn how many CMMC controls you’re already meeting—let us handle the rest.