Migration to the cloud, and the underlying security issues surrounding it, has long been a difficult process for federal agencies, contributing to a slow-moving cloud migration process. Government systems, in particular, face new persistent threats from malicious attackers and hackers, interconnectivity issues, hardware hang-ups, natural disasters, and basic human errors. Protecting government systems in the cloud is a tough task, requiring assurance that cloud providers are adept in handling sensitive government data, new budgetary constraints and evolving waves of new regulatory changes.
Every government agency can use some degree of help directly from government cloud service providers that specialize in government network and data protection. The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. FedRAMP is making cloud adoption more appealing, boosting confidence among government stakeholders that their sensitive information is protected in the cloud.
Since its foundation in 2001, IT-CNP, Inc. has been delivering secure network infrastructure, hosting and cyber security services exclusively for federal agencies. An expert in advanced enterprise network security, ITCNP’s solution architects have been providing on-site support for federal agencies through 2004 when ITCNP’s GovDataHosting division was formed to offer off-site datacenter hosting and managed security services for federal agencies.
Leading the Innovation
Since 2004, GovDataHosting has been a part of the leading edge of technology innovations including the transition from physical to virtual servers, implementation of government-specific cloud models, and adoption of artificial intelligence as part of daily technical and security service delivery.
GovDataHosting received its initial FedRAMP Moderate Impact authorization in 2015, and recently upgraded to a FedRAMP High Impact authorization.
According to the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 199, sensitive data is categorized as “High Impact” when its potential unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized modification, or disruption could cause severe or catastrophic adverse effects or damage to organizational assets, organizational operations, or to individuals.
Comprehensive Services
The key to GovDataHosting success is comprised of its FedRAMP High Impact authorized Infrastructure-as-a- Service offering, combined with a comprehensive selection of cloud support services. GovDataHosting’s full-service cloud management bundles include the following four main components:
- FedRAMP Cloud IaaS – FedRAMP High Impact authorized cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) enables lower computing infrastructure costs.
- SECaaS – Full spectrum Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS) compliance results in expedited system Authorization to Operate (ATO) and continuous monitoring.
- DRaaS – Robust Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) delivered across 3 cloud zones with flexible Recovery Time Objective/Recovery Point Objective (RTO/RPO) options provide protection in case a disaster strikes.
- ASaaS – U.S. based Application-Support-as-a- Service (ASaaS) team provides comprehensive application support for Microsoft, Red Hat, Oracle, Drupal open source and other custom-built applications with robust SLAs.
A Proficient Leader
Dana Taylor has extensive experience in leadership, strategic planning and management consulting. She arrived as Director of Cloud and Compliance Solutions at GovDataHosting in 2018. According to Ms. Taylor, “IT-CNP’s GovDataHosting Cloud Platform is currently one of only five FedRAMP High Impact authorized cloud IaaS providers serving the government market. We are very proud of this accomplishment.” She added,“Due to shrinking budgets, government officials are always looking for opportunities to reduce their operational costs. GovDataHosting bundled solutions achieve that goal for them. Acquiring cloud infrastructure, security compliance, disaster recovery and technical support together, from a single provider, allows for tremendous service delivery efficiency and therefore results in cost reduction. We pass this on to our government customers.” Ms. Taylor believes the concept of acquiring government cloud infrastructure, and associated security compliance services in a bundle, resonates well with many government stakeholders that require continuous focus and attention on their primary mission. The GovDataHosting team prevents these executives from diluting their resources and time trying to put together the right pieces in the cloud migration and system security compliance puzzle on their own.
Unified Security Offerings
GovDataHosting has a solution for every government cloud hosting requirement independent of system size or purpose. The GovDataHosting Community Cloud offering serves as a federal government-dedicated multi-tenant community reserved for federal agencies and government contractors to access virtualized cloud computing resources. Agencies with higher level security requirements are setup into private cloud environments that ensure dedicated virtualized cloud infrastructure supporting highly intensive or sensitive workloads. GovDataHosting services are currently utilized by multiple federal agencies across the government, including DoD, DHS, VA, HHS, GSA and others.
Recently while transitioning a major Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data warehouse, ITCNP’s GovDataHosting division provided the requisite security compliance services to ensure adherence to rigorous HHS FISMA and HIPAA security standards during their transition to the GovDataHosting Cloud Platform environment. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) were subsequently documented, assessed and protected in accordance with HHS agency standards to obtain an Authorization To Operate (ATO). HHS headquarters also recently awarded a contract to IT-CNP to provide cloud capabilities with associated technical and information assurance support services.
To help the federal government vendor community, GovDataHosting offers a comprehensive FedRAMP SaaS Connect program that enables a cost-effective path to obtain a FedRAMP Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) certification for government software application providers. With services available on a number of government contract vehicles, including GSA Schedule 70, HHS NGITS Application Hosting BPA and the DoD ACCENT program, IT-CNP has carved out a niche in the government cloud industry by offering a 100% infrastructure availability SLA and outstanding customer satisfaction.
GovDataHosting’s service design team is always working on new ways to introduce automation and artificial intelligence decision making capabilities into its services, constantly improving performance and finding new ways to lower customer costs.