Scaling Fast? How Managed Services Keep You CMMC Compliant As You Grow

EXECUTIVE BRIEF

Maintaining compliance while scaling operations can be a difficult task. That's why many small- and mid-sized defense contractors work with MSPs - expert partners who can maintain your compliance posture and tailor their services to the current and future needs of your business.

Here is what defense contractors need to know: 

• MSPs understand how your hardware, software, policies, and processes play into your compliance posturing
• Having an MSP act as or supplement your IT department allows your business to scale up or down as needed, with predictable pricing and services
• Working with a Registered Provider Organization or CMMC Level 2 certified company, if not both, are a key differentiator defense contractors should look for in an MSP

Dig deeper and continue learning below!

In today’s defense contracting landscape, defense contractors face the challenge of achieving and maintaining compliance with strict cybersecurity requirements while scaling operations. Managed security services offer a comprehensive solution, providing predictable costs and expert support through every stage of compliance. These services help streamline the complex process, turning compliance from a burden into a strategic advantage and ensuring that contractors meet regulatory demands with confidence.

This article will detail the role of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and partnering with the right MSP can benefit your organization’s compliance journey.

What Are Managed Services in Cybersecurity?

Managed services provide a comprehensive solution to IT challenges, particularly faced by those within regulated environments like the defense industrial base. These services are designed with compliance frameworks in mind, incorporating tools and processes specifically selected to align with standards such as NIST 800-171 and prepare organizations for certification processes like CMMC Level 2.

What Is a CMMC MSP?

The essence of an MSP is to provide IT services for a company or help supplement an existing IT department. What a CMMC or defense-specific MSP will do is make sure your business is still receiving expert-level IT support while ensuring your tools and processes meet compliance standards, like CMMC or NIST 800-171.

In addition to the compliance and IT side of this, MSPs also offer value to growing businesses. MSP contracts can scale with your business needs at a predictable, month-to-month cost. As you bring on more clients and staff, your MSP should be able to seamlessly meet growing demands.

Do You Need an MSP for CMMC Compliance?

It is not mandatory to work with an MSP, but it is extremely beneficial. Here’s why:

• An industry-specific MSP will have the knowledge base and experience to expedite your compliance journey
• Allows your current IT department to focus on general support or revenue-generating initiatives
• Offers a more cost-effective and predictable service offering compared to trying to augment or overburden existing departments

In short, MSPs provide your business with predictable options. Knowing that your IT and compliance initiatives are being tended to diligently allows you and your team to focus more time and energy on providing services and winning more contracts.

How Can an MSP Help with CMMC Compliance?

When you partner with an MSP, the first thing they should do is conduct a thorough assessment of your environment, generating essential documentation, such as:

• Shared Responsibility Matrix
• System Security Plans (SSPs)
• Plans of Action and Milestones (POAMs)
• Policies and Procedures
• Network and Data Flow Diagrams
• Supplier Risk Performance Scores (SPRS)

Once the core documentation is completed, your MSP will help maintain compliance by continuously updating documentation and ensuring your tools meet evolving compliance standards.

Does an MSP Need to Be CMMC Certified?

The CMMC rule does not require MSPs to be CMMC certified. However, working with a CMMC Level 2 certified company, like ISI, offers distinct advantages, including:

• A proven roadmap to achieving CMMC certification
• A smaller, auditable scope during your Level 2 assessment
• Increased predictability in costs and outcomes during your assessment

Working with an MSP who has validated their tools and processes will dramatically increase your chances of passing your CMMC audit.

What Are the Benefits of Using CMMC Managed Services for My Business?  

Supporting Cybersecurity Maturity

Partnering with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) significantly strengthens your cybersecurity posture by aligning your IT infrastructure with compliance requirements. MSPs understand that compliance is deeply connected to how IT systems are configured, implementing solutions that support both daily operations and regulatory standards like NIST 800-171. They bring specialized expertise to your security program, navigating complex areas such as the 110 controls and 320 of NIST 800-171, ensuring that the right tools and security management software are used to meet DoD standards.

Ensuring Ongoing Compliance

Working with an MSP can help your organization avoid "compliance drift" by staying ahead of regulatory changes, allowing your organization to focus on its core business while maintaining strong, proactive security and compliance management.

For example, ISI has a team of cybersecurity subject matter experts and a compliance team to stay up-to-date on new industry standards and determine which tools provide the best security to maintain our customers’ compliance posturing.

Achieve a Competitive Advantage with Managed Security Services

As one of the first RPOs to also achieve CMMC Level 2 certification, ISI provides defense contractors with a proven roadmap towards CMMC compliance. Giving your organization the necessary tools to remain competitive in the defense contracting space.

>> Steal our CMMC Level 2 Readiness Strategy!

FAQs

What Is the Difference Between an MSP and MSSP?

An MSSP is a specialized version of an MSP. In short, while both MSPs and MSSPs provide IT management, MSSPs specialize in securing IT infrastructure and actively monitoring for and responding to security threats, whereas MSPs have a broader focus on general IT and operational support

How Do CMMC Managed Services Support Compliance for Small Businesses?

Achieving compliance requires an investment in one form or another. Working with a CMMC-certified, Registered Provider Organization (RPO) like ISI offers the best and most affordable way to get this done right the first time around. Here’s how:

• CMMC Level 2 validated tools and processes
• Predictable and scalable pricing
• Industry-specific cybersecurity expertise

Why Do I Need a CMMC RPO?

Finding an MSP who has achieved RPO distinction is incredibly valuable for your compliance journey. These organizations have been certified by the Cyber AB as being capable partners to guide your business through your compliance journey. Additionally, they have also signed onto a Code of Ethics that prioritizes cybersecurity best practices and offers fair prices.

That said, the “cream of the crop” MSPs will not only have achieved RPO certification but also received their CMMC Level 2 Certificate of Status as well.

How Much Does It Cost to Get CMMC Certified?

The cost of your audit is heavily dependent on the size and complexity of your organization. However, we are encouraging our customers to budget at least $40,000 for their audit.

That said, this price tag only includes the audit itself. It is also important to include the cost of tools, software and hardware, training, and labor hours associated with compliance (especially if you are new to this field).

For an entity handling compliance in-house who is either building or rebuilding their CMMC readiness posture, the government has estimated the first-year cost to be around $175,000.

Just a heads up: Keyword research is pointing to the use of MSP throughout this blog. Queries are using this term over MSSP.