Axonai · Assurance & Integration
CMMC compliance and managed IT for the defense industrial base
We take government contractors from “we have no idea where to start” to a documented, defensible CMMC Level 2 posture, and then run the IT and security underneath it so the programme stays intact. One team, fixed monthly fees, priced for companies your size.
- No-cost initial gap check
- Fixed-fee, no hourly meters
- US-based support team
Where most contractors are stuck
- A score you cannot defendA 110 posted in SPRS that nobody can substantiate, now facing a real assessment.
- Everything in scopeCUI scattered across mailboxes and file shares, pulling the whole company into the boundary.
- Quotes you cannot fundSix-figure annual programmes quoted to a company with thirty in-scope users.
- A deadline in a contractA prime asking for proof of compliance on a timeline that already started.
Recognise any of these? That is the conversation we have every week. Let’s talk.
- CMMC 2.0 Level 1 & 2
- NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2
- NIST SP 800-172
- DFARS 252.204-7012
- FAR 52.204-21
- ITAR / EAR
- CIS Controls v8
- NIST 800-171 practices in a Level 2 assessment
- 110NIST 800-171 practices in a Level 2 assessment
- Assessment objectives an assessor will test
- 320Assessment objectives an assessor will test
- Point swing between a failing and perfect SPRS score
- 88Point swing between a failing and perfect SPRS score
- DFARS window to report a cyber incident to DoD
- 72 hrDFARS window to report a cyber incident to DoD
Why this is hard
Compliance failed because IT and security were never the same conversation
Most defense contractors ended up with a general-purpose IT provider who does not read contract clauses, and a compliance consultant who cannot touch the environment. The documentation describes one company and the network runs as another.
That gap is where programmes die. A technician disables a logging policy to fix a printer. A new hire gets set up outside the enclave because it was faster. A file share quietly accumulates drawings that should never have left the boundary. None of it is malicious. All of it is scored.
We close the gap by owning both sides. The people implementing your controls are the people running your helpdesk, and every change is measured against the control set before it is applied.
What we do
Everything a defense contractor needs, from one provider
Managed IT, managed security, and the compliance programme that sits on top of both. Pick the pieces you need. Most clients start with the compliance work and consolidate the rest over time.
CMMC Level 2 Compliance
A complete Level 2 program: gap assessment, remediation, documentation, SPRS score, and support all the way through your C3PAO assessment.
ExploreManaged IT Services
A full IT department on a flat monthly fee: helpdesk, devices, patching, backup, and vendors, run by people who know what breaks compliance.
ExploreManaged Security (MSSP)
24/7 monitoring, managed detection and response, SIEM with compliant log retention, and an incident response plan that has actually been tested.
ExploreGCC High Migration
Move email, files, and Teams into a Microsoft 365 GCC or GCC High tenant built for CUI, then provisioned, migrated, and hardened without stalling your business.
ExploreNIST SP 800-171 & SPRS
The documentation layer underneath CMMC: a real SSP, an honest POA&M, and a defensible SPRS score you can post with confidence.
ExploreCUI Enclave Design
The single biggest cost lever in CMMC: isolate CUI into a small, hardened enclave instead of dragging your entire company into scope.
ExploreVirtual CISO (vCISO)
Senior security leadership on a fraction of a full-time salary, owning the program, the risk register, the policies, and the questionnaires.
ExploreIncident Response
A tested plan, a team that answers, and support through the 72-hour DFARS reporting obligation most contractors discover too late.
Explore
Our flagship programme
CMMC Level 2, run end to end
110 practices. 320 assessment objectives. One score that decides whether you keep your contracts. We run the whole programme, not a report that leaves you to implement it yourself.
- CUI data-flow mapping and a defensible scope boundary
- Gap assessment against all 320 assessment objectives
- Remediation sequenced by point value so your SPRS score moves early
- System Security Plan, POA&M, policies, and an evidence library
- Mock assessment and interview coaching before the real one
- Support through your C3PAO engagement and after certification
How it goes
A six-step path from unknown to assessed
No mystery, no open-ended discovery phase that bills for months. You know what happens next at every stage.
- 01
Free gap check
A structured conversation about your contracts, your data, and your environment. You leave with a written summary of what applies to you and what it will realistically take, at no cost and with no obligation.
- 02
Scope and data-flow mapping
We trace where CUI enters, rests, moves, and leaves. This is where the money is saved: a tight, defensible boundary instead of hardening your entire company.
- 03
Assessment against 320 objectives
A full gap assessment using the DoD Assessment Methodology, giving you a weighted SPRS score today and a projection of where each remediation phase takes you.
- 04
Remediate and migrate
Identity, endpoints, logging, encryption, boundary, and physical controls implemented, plus GCC/GCC High migration and enclave build where the design calls for it.
- 05
Document and evidence
System Security Plan, POA&M, policies, procedures, and an evidence library assembled as we go rather than scrambled together the month before an assessment.
- 06
Assess and maintain
Mock assessment, interview coaching, and support through your C3PAO engagement, then continuous management so the programme does not decay before re-certification.
The cost question
Looking for a cheaper way to get CMMC compliant? That is precisely why we exist.
Small and mid-sized defense contractors are routinely quoted programmes that cost well into six figures a year, for environments with thirty people in scope. Those numbers are not a law of nature. They are the result of scoping badly and pricing for enterprises.
We built our delivery model around companies with ten to a hundred in-scope users. That means a tightly-drawn CUI enclave instead of hardening every desk, licensing matched to who genuinely touches controlled data, reusable engineering rather than bespoke everything, and fixed fees instead of an hourly meter.
We do not publish a price list, because a real number depends on your scope, your level, and how much foundation you already have. What we will do is give you an honest figure fast, usually on the first call, and it is consistently a fraction of what our clients were quoted elsewhere.
Where the money actually goes, and how we cut it
- Scope
- Every in-scope user costs licensing, engineering, documentation, and assessor hours. Enclave design is the single biggest lever on your total cost.
- Licensing
- GCC High is expensive and frequently sold to companies that did not need it. We check whether GCC or a hardened commercial tenant satisfies your obligations first.
- Consulting hours
- Open-ended hourly engagements are where budgets disappear. We quote fixed scope and fixed fees so the number you approve is the number you pay.
- Rework
- Evidence assembled in a panic the month before an assessment costs several times what it costs to capture as you go. We capture as we go.
- The assessment itself
- A C3PAO bills for the environment they have to examine. A smaller boundary is a shorter, cheaper assessment.
Who we work with
Built for the companies inside the defense supply chain
Primes push requirements down. Everyone below them has to answer. We work with the companies doing the answering.
Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing
Machine shops, precision manufacturers, and Tier 2/3 suppliers handling drawings, specs, and technical data packages that are almost always CUI.
Engineering & Professional Services
Firms delivering SETA support, systems engineering, and research services where CUI arrives by email every single day.
Prime Contractors & Their Subs
Primes pushing flow-down requirements onto their supply chain, and the subcontractors who now have to answer for them.
Research, Labs & Universities
Federally funded research organizations balancing open collaboration against controlled unclassified information.
IT & Software Suppliers to Government
Software vendors, integrators, and cloud providers that need FedRAMP-aligned posture and a defensible security program.
Logistics, Maintenance & Field Services
MRO, depot, and logistics providers with distributed teams, shared workstations, and complex physical-security requirements.
Why Axonai
Six things that make this go differently
One team for IT and compliance
Most contractors juggle an MSP that does not understand CMMC and a consultant who cannot touch the environment. We do both, so nothing falls between them and you are not paying two firms to argue.
Scope reduction comes first
Before we sell you a single license, we work out how much of your business actually needs to be in scope. A tight CUI enclave can cut the cost of a Level 2 program dramatically compared to hardening the whole company.
Evidence built as we go
Every control we implement is documented, screenshotted, and mapped to its assessment objectives while it is fresh. When the assessor arrives, the evidence package already exists.
Fixed monthly fees, no surprise hours
You get a flat, predictable monthly price for the managed service and a fixed-scope quote for the compliance work. No hourly meters running in the background.
We stay after the certificate
CMMC is not a one-time project. You have to attest annually and re-certify every three years. We run the program continuously so you never rebuild it from scratch.
Priced for companies, not for primes
Enterprise compliance firms price for enterprise budgets. We built our delivery model around small and mid-sized contractors, which is why our programs land far below the six-figure quotes most suppliers are handed.
The stack
Technology we deploy and manage
We are deliberately pragmatic about tooling. Wherever your existing licensing already covers a requirement, we use it rather than selling you something new.
- Microsoft 365 GCC High
- Microsoft 365 GCC
- Azure Government
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Microsoft Intune
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
- Microsoft Purview
- Microsoft Sentinel
- PreVeil
- Exostar
- CrowdStrike
- Huntress
- Duo / Yubico
- KnowBe4
- Fortinet / Cisco Meraki
- Veeam / Azure Backup
Straight answers
CMMC and managed IT: the questions we hear most
If yours is not here, ask us directly at contact@axonai.us. We answer plainly, including when the answer is that you do not need what we sell.
What is CMMC and does it apply to my company?
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification is the Department of Defense programme that verifies contractors are actually protecting federal contract information and controlled unclassified information. If you hold DoD contracts containing FAR 52.204-21 you are looking at Level 1. If your contracts contain DFARS 252.204-7012 and you receive CUI, you are looking at Level 2, and for most of those contracts that means a certification assessment by an accredited third party.
We are a small company. Is CMMC Level 2 realistically affordable for us?
Yes, if it is scoped intelligently. The programmes that cost six figures a year are usually the ones where an entire company was dragged into scope unnecessarily. By isolating controlled data into a small CUI enclave and using the licensing you already own where possible, we deliver Level 2 programmes to small contractors for a fraction of the quotes they are typically handed. Tell us your size and we will give you a real number.
Do you replace our current IT provider or work alongside them?
Either. Many clients bring us in purely as the compliance and security layer while their existing MSP keeps running day-to-day IT. Others hand us the lot because the seams between a general IT provider and a separate compliance consultant are where programmes stall. We will tell you honestly which arrangement suits your situation.
How long does it take to get CMMC ready?
For a small contractor with a well-defined enclave, eight to twelve months from kickoff to assessment-ready is a realistic planning assumption. Sprawling on-premises environments, legacy engineering applications, or the absence of any identity platform push that out. Our gap assessment gives you a dated plan in the first few weeks rather than a guess.
Do we need Microsoft GCC High?
Not always, and being told otherwise by default is one of the most expensive mistakes in this market. If you handle ITAR or export-controlled technical data, or your prime requires it in writing, then yes. If your CUI is not export-controlled, GCC or a properly configured commercial tenant with the right compensating controls may satisfy your obligations for far less money. We give you the analysis before you commit.
What happens after we are certified?
The obligation continues. You affirm compliance annually in SPRS, keep training and testing current, review logs and access, and re-certify on a three-year cycle. We run the programme continuously so re-assessment is a review rather than a rebuild, and so a change made on a Tuesday afternoon does not quietly break a control you were certified against.
Next step
Find out what your CMMC gap really looks like
A short, no-obligation conversation and a written summary of where you stand, what it will take, and roughly what it will cost. No sales theatre.
We reply within one business day.