The C3 CMMC Readiness Program Goes Live

The C3 CMMC Readiness Program Goes Live

Clients and friends of C3 have heard us speak many times about the implications of the pending CMMC requirements for all DoD contractors. Now, with the implementation of the DFARS Interim Rule, CMMC has officially arrived and is now codified. To meet the needs of small and mid-market system integrators throughout the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), C3 Integrated Solutions is pleased to announce the C3 CMMC Readiness Program. This is the only program in the industry which meets a company at any point in their cyber maturation lifespan, leverages the Microsoft Cloud to serve the needs of the DIB and allows them to meet the requirements of CMMC and NIST 800-171. 

Over many years, C3 has worked with clients of all sizes to meet the needs of CMMC’s precursor, DFARS 252.204-7012. With extensive experience in the Microsoft 365 suite of services and as part of the AOSG Program provisioning GCC High, C3 has successfully deployed all three versions of the Microsoft 365 platform across hundreds of clients. This experience has placed C3 in the unique position to understand and map DFARS controls to the available capabilities of the Microsoft 365 suite, and to work through real-world challenges with our customers.  

Now, as CMMC takes effect, we’ve combined with our unique experience a reimagined suite of solutions to meet the needs of our clients through the C3 CMMC Readiness Program. The C3 CMMC Readiness Program is a six-step process designed to be both incremental and modular. The incremental approach allows clients to gradually build upon each step, and to move at a pace that works best for their company. The C3 CMMC Readiness Program is modular, which allows a company to adopt individual portions of the program, recognizing that in some cases, a client may have an existing solution that needs to be retained.  

The C3 CMMC Readiness Program 

The six phases of the C3 CMMC Readiness Program begins with an assessment of a client’s current technological maturity and implements a customized roadmap to transition to a cloud-centric environment that unleashes the power of the Microsoft Cloud. The six phases, DEPLOY, SECURE, DEFEND, MONITOR, GOVERN and MANAGE are designed to guide a client along a journey that ends with a successful audit and ultimately CMMC compliance. 

 

The six phases of the C3 CMMC Readiness Program include:

1. DEPLOY onboards and migrates data into GCC High.
2. SECURE locks down the environment with an emphasis on access control and device management.
3. DEFEND shifts from defensive to active pursuit of threats which are aggregated through the Azure Sentinel solution.
4. MONITOR brings all of the data to life with a world-class Security Operations Center and industry-leading dashboards.
5. GOVERN turns inward to control the flow of CUI across both internal and external system boundaries.
6. MANAGE provides the right level of support for our client’s unique needs.

This is supported by a STRATEGIC component that features policies and procedures as well as regular reviews and development.

Microsoft 365 GCC High, GCC or Commercial? Picking the Right Cloud

C3 Integrated Solutions strongly supports the Microsoft recommendation that clients who hold Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and especially ITAR/NOFORN data, should move the GCC High version of Microsoft 365. This approach creates an environment that meets the “high-level watermark,” ensuring that our nation’s sensitive data is protected, while implementing the most secure posture for your business.

That said, we have worked with many clients who must make a risk-based, or business decision to utilize either the Commercial or GCC versions of the Microsoft 365 platform. Our years of experience with a wide variety of clients and solutions have allowed us to create an approach that works across all three versions of the Microsoft 365 platform with only minimal adjustments.

Beyond the Microsoft Cloud

As we approach ten years of partnership with Microsoft, and entering our third year supporting GCC High, we are constantly working to combine the tools available with industry-leading partners to deliver the most to our clients. Earlier this year, we were honored to work with our partners at AvePoint to deliver the first third-party back-up solution to GCC High. Later in the spring, we collaborated with CallTower to deliver hosted voice to GCC High.

Over the next few weeks, as we highlight the individual phases of the C3 CMMC Readiness Program, we will have several more announcements that will showcase our continued leadership. As a full-service IT provider, our mission is to help DoD contractors achieve CMMC compliance through cloud-based solutions. We hope you continue to monitor our news and analysis of CMMC, and our announcements about the C3 CMMC Readiness Program. If you are interested in working with C3, please contact us at info@c3isit.com. No matter where you are on your journey to CMMC compliance, C3 can help.