Planning is Essential
FedRAMP is not a low-cost endeavor. If a cloud service provider attempts to jump right into FedRAMP without a preliminary understanding, they may be burdened with undue costs and time delays. Therefore, we always recommend a gap assessment up front, to quickly identify the major items that could hinder a successful assessment.
All 3PAOs Are Not the Same
The FedRAMP Marketplace annotates how many assessments a 3PAO has performed. However, that is at the company level, not the individual assessor level. Ensure you are working with a Project Lead or 3PAO team that is well-versed in performing FedRAMP assessments of similar scope and complexity of your cloud service offering.
Establish a ConMon Strategy Early
The key to maintaining a FedRAMP authorization is to have a comprehensive continuous monitoring strategy. This strategy includes maintaining the proper staffing levels, ensuring vulnerability scans are being performed and analyzed on a frequent basis, and closely monitoring all plan of action and milestones on an ongoing basis.
Ensure Federal Mandates Are Met
While there is an extensive set of security requirements in order to achieve FedRAMP authorization, there are core federal mandates that must be fully met to achieve a FedRAMP authorization. The FedRAMP Readiness Assessment Report (RAR) process outlines these requirements are federal mandates. Ensure these federal mandates are in place prior to progressing your authorization.
