FedRAMP Deadline Looms For Agencies, Cloud Providers

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Wyatt Kash.

As we reported last week in an in-depth analysis, cloud service providers are queuing up for a rigorous government review process that certifies their service meets a strict baseline of security standards. This certification, known as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, is mandatory for any cloud service provider looking to do business with federal agencies.

But the stakes are equally high for the federal agencies. The Office of Management and Budget, which mandated in 2011 that agencies begin using cloud services, has given them until June 5 to show that those services meet federal security standards. A big question now is what happens if cloud service providers don’t get the security certification by the June deadline? And where does that leave agencies trying to migrate slices of their IT operations to the cloud if their preferred provider’s services have not yet been approved?..

The short answer: "Call us," says Maria Roat, the General Services Administration director who oversees the FedRAMP certification program. If agencies already are working with certain cloud providers, officials expect there will be some flexibility on the deadline…

Read more from the source @ http://www.informationweek.com/government/cloud-computing/fedramp-deadline-looms-for-agencies-cloud-providers/d/d-id/1113651

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