The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) supports the U.S. government’s cloud-smart policy by establishing consistent security standards across agencies and their contractors (such as cloud service providers). Unlike FISMA, which awards an Authorization to Operate (ATO) specific to the agency or project at hand, a FedRAMP certification allows a contractor to work with any government agency. It’s a powerful tool for streamlining the A&A approval path and executing federal contracts.
Who needs FedRAMP certification? Any organization that works for the federal government (or that would like to work for the federal government) should review and address their data security program to comply with FedRAMP. However, it may be a good idea for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers to become FedRAMP-certified even if they currently do not support any agencies. Here’s why:
FedRAMP certification is the leading standard for data security.
The FedRAMP certification process scrutinizes an organization’s security protocols, risks, vulnerabilities, access points, and more. This rigorous review pushes IT managers to generate and document comprehensive security controls. As such, FedRAMP-certified SaaS providers are industry-recognized for the highest standards in data security. What’s more, once an organization is FedRAMP-certified, it becomes much simpler to comply with other standards, like HIPAA.
FedRAMP certification can help you differentiate from competitors.
The reputational fallout from a data breach or compromise can be disastrous for SaaS providers. Unfortunately, these breaches happen all too often. By contrast, the stability, security, and low cyber risk of FedRAMP-certified organizations help them stand apart from competitors and attract more favorable coverage and investment.
Your organization will be listed in the FedRAMP marketplace.
Want to gain more customers? They first need to find you. SaaS providers that are FedRAMP certified are listed in the FedRAMP marketplace – a catalog of government-approved vendors that agencies review when they are looking for new services and solutions. Agencies choose from this list because of the ease and simplicity of contracting with organizations that are already FedRAMP certified.
The U.S. government is a great client.
Selling services directly to the federal government can be very rewarding for your organization. Even when the economy is lagging, the U.S. government is a reliable and constant consumer of goods and services – it is the largest buyer in the world. As agencies adapt to the cloud-first agenda of the U.S. government, SaaS providers are poised to benefit from the ever-increasing need for new technologies, platforms, and ways to connect.
If these benefits of FedRAMP certification appeal to your organization, take the next step with GovDataHosting. We provide cost-effective SaaS implementation and FedRAMP certification for federal agency application providers. Our FedRAMP specialists can discuss your unique application requirements and help you select the appropriate SaaS architecture to get you certified and on the marketplace as quickly and efficiently as possible. Reach out to GovDataHosting today.
