Compare
Three honest paths to CMMC Level 2
A small contractor has three real options. Each one is legitimate for somebody. Here is the straight version of all three, including when ours is not the right one.
The paths · at a glance
§ 01 · Side by side
| What matters to a small shop | JumpStart Fed | Enterprise platform | Consultant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Documents arrive already written | ✓Included | ✕Still on you | −Hand-written, slowly |
| Mapped to all 110 requirements from day one | ✓The whole point | −Federal modules added on | ✕Built as you go |
| Built for small shops with no security team | ✓The target shop | ✕Assumes a compliance owner | −If the budget is there |
| A defined path from kickoff to assessment-ready | ✓Under 100 steps, in order | ✕Monitoring, not a path | −Whatever they plan |
| The system stays when the engagement ends | ✓Yours to operate | −While you subscribe | ✕Often leaves with them |
| Many frameworks across an enterprise surface | ✕Not what this is | ✓Genuinely their strength | −Depends on the firm |
| Fully bespoke for an unusual environment | ✕Engineered, not bespoke | ✕Templates and connectors | ✓Their strength |
| Cost posture | Scoped to your shop; one call gets a real answer | Commonly $50k to $100k+ per year before services | Hourly or fixed-fee; often six figures |
Two of those rows are not ours to win, and we would rather you know that now.
§ 02 · The full picture
Each option, in its own words
The matrix compresses. These are the honest details behind each column.
JumpStart Fed
A scoped, high-touch setup for the shop with CUI on a handful of machines and no enterprise budget: you adapt and operate a system instead of building one, and you keep it running, so you stay assessment-ready after assessment day rather than passing once. Two caveats we volunteer. It is a working program, not a magic wand; your team still does the steps. And it is pre-launch, which makes you an early customer, with the access that brings.
Fits: the small shop with CUI
Enterprise platform
A subscription dashboard that connects to your stack and monitors control status, built first for the SOC 2 and ISO markets and quoted annually through a sales process. The monitoring is real. What it leaves untouched is the point for a small shop: the program, the policies, and the evidence story are still yours to build.
Fits: the compliance-staffed enterprise
Consultant
An expert, or a firm, writes your documentation and runs your readiness effort from scratch, shaped entirely to your environment. Where templates would genuinely fight you, or you want the work largely done for you and can fund it, that bespoke craft earns its fee. It is typically the most expensive of the three paths.
Fits: the one-of-a-kind environment
§ 03 · The honest part
Sometimes the other column is right
We would rather tell you now than have you find out mid-engagement.
Pick the platform if
You are past a hundred employees, run a modern cloud stack end to end, and have a person who owns compliance full-time. Continuous monitoring across many frameworks is what those tools are genuinely good at.
Pick the consultant if
Your environment is truly one of a kind, or you want a done-for-you engagement and can fund it. A good consultant building from scratch beats a template that fights your reality.
Pick neither if
You do not handle CUI and nobody in your contract chain is asking for CMMC. Do not buy compliance you do not owe. A scoping call can tell you that too, and we will say so.
§ 04 · Straight answers
Asked and answered
The questions buyers actually ask, answered the way we answer them on a call.
Does JumpStart Fed certify CMMC?
No. JumpStart prepares organizations for assessment. Certification decisions are made by independent third-party assessment organizations, not by JumpStart.
Is JumpStart Fed a compliance dashboard like Vanta or Drata?
No. Dashboards watch your systems and flag gaps; the fixing stays with you. JumpStart Fed is a deployable compliance system: controlled documents, a structured implementation path, and evidence discipline. You deploy it, adapt it, and operate it.
Does JumpStart Fed host my systems or deploy cloud infrastructure?
No. The program runs fully local today: your CUI stays on machines you control, inside the boundary you already defend. A connected AWS/Okta version is in development, and deployment stays a choice you make.
Is CMMC still required after the 2026 program review?
The third-party assessment deadline is paused, not the rules: DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST SP 800-171, and the self-assessments contracts require at award all remain in effect, and primes are still flowing requirements down.
Find your column
Thirty minutes with your contract situation on the table; if JumpStart Fed is not the right path, you will hear that from us directly, with a pointer to what is.