15 Ways to Benefit from CMMC Certification.

With Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) entering RFPs en masse in 2025, the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) is scrambling to become compliant.

CMMC tells the DoD you’re their partner in protecting the warfighter and safeguarding sensitive information like FCI and CUI. It assures them you’re ready to thwart evolving threats. That you’re accountable. Cooperative. And committed to maintaining public trust through high professional and ethical standards.

But if you think you’re just doing it for the DoD, think again. There are many benefits that directly impact you, including giving you a kick in the pants to shore up your cybersecurity and streamline your efforts. Plus, CMMC is not just about DoD contracts. It demonstrates your commitment to cybersecurity for all your clients.

Becoming compliant now may be an inconvenient requirement for doing business with the government, but in the long run you’ll be glad you did it. From cutting costs to providing a framework for cybersecurity maturity, it’s the certification that gives and gives.

Four ways CMMC benefits your contracts and opportunities.

• Eligibility. CMMC is required if you want to bid on DoD contracts or be a subcontractor.
• Commitment. Certification demonstrates your commitment to cybersecurity, differentiating you from the competition and making you more attractive to potential clients in the DoD and beyond.
• Prime Opportunities. Prime contractors will be looking for certified subcontractors to protect the integrity of their own certification. Achieving certification makes you an easier, more confident choice.
• Competitive Advantage. The earlier you gain certification, the more attractive you are as a contractor or subcontractor. In addition, early-on there will be decreased competition as businesses work on becoming compliant, which could put you at the top of the list.

 Five ways CMMC benefits your cybersecurity posture.

• Improved Security. Compliance helps you implement robust, standardized cybersecurity practices, reducing the risk of attacks and breaches. It also helps you identify, assess, and mitigate cybersecurity risks more effectively, preventing costly incidents and data losses.

• Enhanced Risk Management. Certification helps you implement proven, prescribed cybersecurity controls to reduce risk for both you and your clients.
• Third-Party Verification. At Level 2 and 3, you will need third-party verification of controls. This not only assures you that your work has been effective, but it also helps your customers feel more secure—even customers outside the DoD.
• Rapid Response. Certification gives you 30 days to address identified vulnerabilities, helping reduce the window of opportunity for attackers.
• Simplified Compliance. Having a single, unified standard to follow simplifies your compliance efforts, reducing the resources needed to maintain multiple compliance frameworks.

Six ways CMMC benefits your organization.

• Increased Trust. Certification shows you have implemented necessary security measures and demonstrates your commitment to protecting sensitive information through a well-established, clear metric that fosters confidence and long-term relationships.

• Operational Efficiency. While there is an initial investment to achieve CMMC compliance, it can also lead to long-term cost savings. Implementing standardized security procedures improves operational efficiency, reduces vulnerabilities, and prevents costly security breaches.
• Alignment With Standards. CMMC aligns with NIST SP 800-171 and NIST 800-53, among others. These frameworks have many overlapping control requirements, so CMMC certification helps you meet multiple regulatory standards simultaneously.
• Cost Savings. Your initial investment is surpassed by potential cost savings from preventing breaches.
• Allowable Costs Reimbursement. CMMC certification costs are considered allowable and reimbursable under the FAR rules.
• Reduced Liability. In the event of an incident, CMMC can help reduce your organization’s liability. Compliance can help your organization prove you did everything right, even if something goes wrong.

Automating CMMC controls helps you realize benefits sooner.

If you want to do business with the DoD as a contractor or subcontractor, you’ll need to be compliant with NIST 800-171, the primary element of CMMC. That’s the requirement that takes the most time and effort to achieve and maintain. It requires you to scan your system for known vulnerabilities, remediate them, and maintain that secure baseline over time.

The controls in 800-171 are a subset of the same STIG controls the DoD uses to secure their own systems. And the lion’s share of the DoD meets those requirements through automation.

SteelCloud’s ConfigOS is the #1 cybersecurity compliance tool in the DoD. Once policy is set, it boils 800-171 compliance and maintenance down to the push of a button, saving 90% of the effort and 70% of the costs of compliance.

The sooner you become compliant, the sooner you can start benefiting from CMMC. Let SteelCloud get you there faster. Schedule a demo today and see how easy CMMC can be to achieve.