In August 2022 Cority achieved the Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authorized status. This news is exciting not only for Cority but also for the public and government sector entities searching for cloud-based EHS software solutions to transform their EHS initiatives. Read more about the news in the press release.
In order to fully understand the scale of this exciting news, we have to dive deeper into what FedRAMP is, why it matters for government and public sector entities, and the importance of digitization for these government agencies.
What is the Federal Risk Authorization Management Program?
The SaaS industry has grown exponentially over the past decade and continues to grow at unprecedented rates. The Federal government has been somewhat slower to fully adopt SaaS solutions compared to other sectors, mainly due to tight security requirements. However, the federal government has been on a mission to drive digitization for the benefit of agency employees and constituents for several years.
Government and public sector entities often handle sensitive and secure data. Understandably, these agencies have to scrutinize cloud services, primarily as cloud security has grown increasingly complex over the years.
According to RedRiver, government-approved cloud providers are now servicing “mission critical” systems for two-thirds of federal agencies. However, when it comes to secure data, both government organizations can still be somewhat skeptical about SaaS. To ensure government agencies only leverage safe and secure cloud-based technology, FedRAMP was created in 2011 to provide a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the federal government.
FedRAMP is a government-wide program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment for cloud technologies and federal agencies.
FedRAMPs main goals are to grow the use of secure cloud technologies in use by government agencies, enhance the framework by which the government secures and authorizes cloud technologies, and build and foster strong partnerships with FedRAMP stakeholders.
Why SaaS Matters for Government Entities
According to the GovLoop Market Trends Report, 38% of public sector respondents said data is still entered manually, and 73% say their agency lacks a clear vision for digital transformation. Retaining and attracting top talent can be challenging for these agencies with outdated hardware and software. From slow processing times, frequent manual errors, and poor data collection capabilities, these agencies highly benefit from digital transformation and SaaS solutions.
Not to mention, firms that switch from on-premise hosting to SaaS report lower total cost of ownership and benefit from a more predictable cost structure, improved application availability and reliability, access to mobile applications, and decreased reliance on internal operations.
With frequently constricted budgets, these agencies don’t have the ability to reinvest in new on-premise hardware every few years. Thus, cloud solutions have been an appealing alternative to government agencies of all levels for the last decade. Thanks to FedRAMP, government agencies have a much clearer path to SaaS adoption.
Governments on all levels are working to transition into digital processes, reduce silos of information, save time, and increase data accuracy. FedRAMP accelerates the adoption of cloud solutions by creating transparent standards and procedures for security authorizations and allowing agencies to leverage security authorizations on a government-wide scale.
While some are still weary of SaaS solutions for their government agencies, FedRAMP helps ensure these entities can take advantage of the benefits of digitization without worrying about the corruption of critical data.
For government agencies invested in EHS initiatives specifically, relying on outdated on-premise systems has been holding them back from creating comprehensive, strategic initiatives beyond risk and compliance.
How Cority’s FedRAMP Authorization Will Benefit Government and Public Sector Entities
Tracking, maintaining, and reporting on EHS initiatives without a true SaaS solution results in siloed information, decreased data accuracy and transparency, slow data processing, compliance complexities, and more. Digital transformation through cloud-based EHS software is the future; rooted in continuous innovation, security, agility, and scalability.
While Cority has already been supporting 90 U.S government agencies and public sector customers prior to receiving the Authorization designation, these customers were often restricted from leveraging the full capability of Cority’s cloud-based offerings. Many organizations still had to invest in hardware significantly, and IT resources to manage the setup and ongoing maintenance of the on-premise hosted solutions.
Now that Cority carries authorization status, FedRAMP has given the green light to support our current customers with the full spectrum of our EHS cloud-based technology. Plus, with the adoption of Cority’s cloud-based software, these agencies no longer have to handle the set-up, maintenance, and updates of the system. This frees their internal IT team from the tedious process of software upgrades (and the burdensome process of fixing outdated on-premise software).
As the demand of EHS software continues to grow from government agencies, we’re excited to have the FedRAMP authorization status, allowing us to support our customers with the full spectrum of benefits from our EHS cloud-based solution.
Sources:
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-insights/2022/07/the-benefits-of-it-modernization-for-the-federal-government/
https://www.fedramp.gov/program-basics/
https://www.govloop.com/resources/top-3-government-workflows-to-digitize-today/
