FedRAMP Deadline Looms, But What Comes Next?

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) deadline is fast approaching. In fact, the deadline we’ve been talkin’ about for months is finally upon us, with the requirements laid out under the program coming due June 5.

FedRAMP is a set of security guidelines that cloud services providers intent on serving the federal government sector have been intent on for more than half a year; and many providers have long since met the stringet requirements. But what happens after June 5?

Let’s take a realistic look at the FedRAMP deadline. The guidelines are strict, as should be expected for government services that touch the cloud. The largest players already have met the guidelines and long made announcements regarding their compliance with FedRAMP. And many smaller players have done likewise. But chances are, there are plenty of services out there that are of interest to government agencies and departments that have not met the requirements, possibly due to costs, limited market or manpower issues.

Currently, there are only 11 FedRAMP-certified services for government departments and agencies to choose from. Another 20 are close to being certified. More are waiting in the queue to undergo the certification process. Not exactly a stellar track record for the government; and when it comes down to continuing to do business, what will FedRAMP certification mean?

The certification makes a lot of sense, but there are so few cloud services providers currently approved and far too many more waiting for the certification process.

Should the FedRAMP process be properly enforced, that means a small number of cloud services providers will be ready to play in the market after the deadline, potentially giving those providers a strong competitive advantage over those not yet certified.