What This Means for Your Organization:
- CMMC readiness is not optional. If you skip it, you’re gambling with your contract eligibility.
- The earlier you invest in readiness, the cheaper and easier compliance becomes. Delaying just creates more work later.
- The right partner makes the difference. Total Assure provides tailored readiness support so you can pass with confidence.
If you’re a small- or mid-sized business pursuing Department of Defense contracts, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance is just around the corner. But here’s the catch: most businesses fail their assessments because they aren’t prepared. The biggest mistake contractors make? Skipping or rushing the readiness phase.
What Is Readiness and Why Does It Matter?
Readiness is where your actual CMMC journey begins. It’s the strategic phase where you identify your security gaps, update your System Security Plan (SSP), define your Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M), and establish internal ownership over your cybersecurity controls. Think of it like this: trying to pass a CMMC assessment without proper readiness is like trying to take the bar exam without studying law.
Here's Why Readiness Makes or Breaks Your CMMC Outcome:
- It Saves You from Failing the Assessment. A C3PAO assessor won’t help you “fix” things during your assessment. Their job is to evaluate what’s already in place. If your policies are incomplete or your implementation is shaky, they’ll flag it, and that could mean starting over. With a strong readiness plan, you walk into your assessment knowing exactly what’s expected and that you’re ready to prove it.
- It Saves You Time and Money. Every gap that’s discovered during an assessment will delay your timeline and add remediation costs. That’s more hours, more consultants, and possibly lost contract opportunities. Readiness helps you get it right the first time so you're minimizing the amount of work that needs to be redone, wasted spend, and the risk of losing revenue.
- It Builds Operational Confidence. Readiness is not just paperwork. It’s about operationalizing security practices across your business. You’ll know who owns which controls, how information flows through your systems, and where your risks lie. That confidence isn’t just valuable for CMMC, it helps you mature as a contractor, defend against threats, and grow into new business.
What You Need Before the Assessment
You don’t need to guess whether you're ready. The right readiness partner will walk you through the steps to help you get compliant. Here is a sample checklist they may use to walk you through the readiness phase.
Ready to Start your CMMC Journey the Right Way?
Let Total Assure guide your team through every step of readiness, from initial gap assessments to internal validations and SSP/POA&M support. We make it simple, strategic, and stress free.
Schedule your free CMMC Readiness Assessment today.
About Total Assure
Total Assure, a spin-off from IBSS, provides uninterrupted business operations with our dedicated 24/7/365 in-house SOC, robust managed security solutions, and expert consulting services. Total Assure provides cost-efficient, comprehensive, and scalable cybersecurity solutions that leverage 30 years of experience and expertise from IBSS. Total Assure partners with its customers to identify security gaps, develop attainable cybersecurity objectives, and deliver comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that protect their businesses from modern cybersecurity threats.
Check out our blog series on NIST SP 800-171.
For more information on how Total Assure can assist your organization in achieving NIST SP 800-171 compliance, please contact our team directly.
