Today we announced that Axiad Cloud has earned Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP^®) “Ready” certification status, which also means Axiad Cloud is now listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace as a “Ready” cloud service. FedRAMP is the U.S. program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud-based services across government by pre-approving vendors for use by federal agencies. This promotes efficiency because each agency has access to a pre-approved list of vendors, rather than checking out each one themselves.

We’re proud of this accomplishment because it legitimizes Axiad Cloud in an official way for vendor selection by federal agencies – and organizations that support them and/or those that have other reason to seek FedRAMP-certified solutions for other business reasons. The following will provide a little more detail on the exhaustive FedRAMP process, and why it is such a big deal.

In Rare Company

There is more to attaining “Ready” status than is possible to mention in any truly consolidated way. That’s why there are so few vendors that have achieved this major accomplishment.

In the Cybersecurity & Risk Management Category of the FedRAMP Marketplace – the searchable database of vendors who have received FedRAMP certification – there are even fewer. In fact, Axiad is one of the only passwordless authentication vendors listed.

That means organizations hoping to address White House Executive Order (EO) 14028, or CISA and NIST guidance on phishing-resistant MFA and Zero Trust, have only a handful of options available to address these needs. With deadlines looming, we are excited to be ready to serve these important organizations and help them enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Complicated by Design

As mentioned, attaining certification is not simple, by design. Over the past several months, Axiad has participated in several technical and security evaluations to prove we are ready to meet the high standards expected by the program. These steps included:

• Creating an initial readiness assessment report.
• Partnering with a third-party assessment organization (3PAO) to draft and populate control information into the readiness report.
• Completing the assessment of the readiness report by the 3PAO.
• Finalizing the report by implementing any risk recommendations provided by the 3PAO.
• Submitting the report to the FedRAMP program management office for final judgment.

For organizations that are pursuing a passwordless, phishing-resistant strategy, the above means that they can rest assured that Axiad Cloud has been vetted by a leading authority and that they therefore are taking important steps to maximize their protection.

Opening the Federal Market

Axiad has been serving the federal market for more than a dozen years, but this is the first time we’ve been FedRAMP certified – meaning that we can now deliver a cloud-based passwordless authentication for federal agencies, in addition to our on-premises Unified Credential Management System (UCMS) package called Passwordless for Air Gapped and Critical Environments.

From a business standpoint, that means Axiad is now able to draw the circle bigger on our addressable market – as many organizations would prefer a cloud-based solution that has unique benefits from a cost, efficiency, and time-to-deployment perspective versus an on-premises solution.

Final Thoughts

The U.S. government is committed to improving cybersecurity with various pronouncements coming out of The White House and other federal organizations. With the new FedRAMP Ready certification, Axiad stands ready to help government organizations become more secure by doing away with passwords once and for all and by adopting phishing-resistant MFA. And now that Axiad Cloud is on the FedRAMP Marketplace as a “Ready” solution for passwordless authentication, choosing Axiad Cloud will be a no brainer for federal agencies. That is truly good news for everyone.

To learn more about the significance of this news, please read our press release.