Are You Prepared for CMMC Certification?

If you work in the defense supply chain, CMMC is no longer a future problem. It is here. The question is simple: is your CMMC readiness real, or just wishful thinking?

I talk every week with small and mid sized contractors who support the Department of Defense. Many already follow “good security practices,” but still are not ready to pass a CMMC assessment or win the next contract that calls it out.

In this guide, I walk through what CMMC looks like as of late 2025, how it connects to NIST SP 800-171, and a practical checklist you can use to get ready, without drowning your team in paperwork.

---

Where CMMC Stands Today (2025)

Photo by qmicertification design

CMMC 2.0 now has three levels, not five. As of November 2025, the Department of Defense has begun a three year rollout. You can see the official details in the DoD CMMC overview.

Here is the short version:

• Level 1 covers basic cyber hygiene for Federal Contract Information (FCI). It uses self assessment.
• Level 2 maps to NIST SP 800-171 for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Some contracts allow self assessment in early phases, higher risk work needs a third party assessor.
• Level 3 is for a smaller set of high priority programs that need advanced protection.

From November 10, 2025 through November 10, 2028, more and more contracts will require a CMMC level. By the end of that window, CMMC will be standard for DoD contracts that handle FCI or CUI.

For small business defense contractors, that means two things:

1. If you touch CUI, you are aiming at Level 2 and full NIST SP 800-171 compliance. A good reference is this NIST 800-171 compliance guide for 2025.
2. Your score and status must be in SPRS, or your proposal may never make it past the first gate.

CMMC is no longer just a security project. It is a contract eligibility project.

---

What CMMC Readiness Really Means For Your Business

Real CMMC readiness means you can prove what you do, every day, to protect FCI and CUI. Policies, technical controls, and evidence all have to line up.

I see this touch every part of Small Business IT, from email and collaboration tools to industrial systems and point of sale. If you already invest in Cybersecurity Services, CMMC gives you a common language and a checklist to show that work.

Some examples:

• If you completed an Office 365 Migration, your tenant configuration now matters. Settings for MFA, conditional access, and data loss prevention feed into CMMC Level 2 requirements.
• If you use Cloud Infrastructure on Azure or AWS, your Secure Cloud Architecture and Cloud Management practices show how you protect CUI in the cloud.
• If you keep on premises workloads, your Data Center Technology design, backups, and network segmentation feed into access control and Business Continuity & Security expectations.
• If you operate a facility with on site dining for staff or visitors, even Restaurant POS Support and Kitchen Technology Solutions can touch FCI or CUI if they share networks or devices.

CMMC pushes you to look at security as part of your whole IT Strategy for SMBs, not a bolt on product.

---

A Practical CMMC Readiness Checklist

Here is a focused checklist I use with clients who need Level 1 or Level 2. It is not a full control list, but it lines up with the CMMC structure and the NIST SP 800-171 families.

1. Scope Your Data And Systems

You cannot secure what you have not scoped.

• Identify where FCI and CUI live, including email, shared drives, cloud apps, and line of business systems.
• Separate networks and devices that do not need access. Many clients gain quick wins with simple VLAN changes and Wi Fi cleanup.

For small contractors that also run retail or food operations, that may mean putting Restaurant POS Support systems and Kitchen Technology Solutions on a separate network from engineering or contract systems.

2. Lock Down Endpoints And Devices

CMMC looks closely at Endpoint Security and Device Hardening.

You should be able to show:

• A standard build for laptops, desktops, and servers
• Full disk encryption on mobile and remote devices
• Central patching and antivirus or EDR
• Removal or control of local admin rights

For many clients, this is where Managed IT for Small Business pays off. A managed stack for patching, monitoring, and response gives you both better security and clean evidence.

3. Strengthen Identity, Access, And Cloud Controls

If you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, identity is your new perimeter.

Key items for CMMC Level 2:

• Multi factor authentication for all remote and admin access
• Role based access to CUI
• Strong policies around account creation, review, and removal
• Secure configuration for Office 365 Migration environments, including logging and retention

This is where Innovative IT Solutions in Cloud Infrastructure and Secure Cloud Architecture matter. Proper Cloud Management ties your identity setup to logging, backup, and incident response.

4. Document Policies That Match Your Reality

CMMC assessors want to see policies, but they also want to see that people follow them.

Start with policies that support:

• Acceptable use
• Access control and account management
• Incident response and reporting
• Change management
• Backup and recovery
• Supplier and subcontractor security

Then match each policy to actual tools and workflows. If you say you monitor logs daily, show where and how. A good external reference to cross check your coverage is this CMMC compliance checklist for 2025.

5. Prove You Do What You Say

Evidence is where many self assessments fall apart.

Examples of useful artifacts:

• Screenshots or exports from security tools
• System configuration reports
• Help desk tickets that show account changes
• Incident response records and lessons learned
• Training attendance logs

I like to organize this in a simple matrix that ties each NIST SP 800-171 control to a policy, a technical control, and at least one piece of evidence. There are good starter templates, such as this CMMC self assessment checklist for compliance.

---

Sample CMMC Readiness Evidence Matrix

Here is a small example of how you might structure your evidence.

Area	Example Control	Sample Evidence
Access Control	Role based access to CUI	AD group list, access review sign off
Endpoint Security	Managed AV and patching	Console screenshots, monthly patch report
Secure Cloud Architecture	M365 conditional access for remote users	Policy export, test login logs
Business Continuity & Security	Encrypted backups of CUI systems	Backup job report, restore test log
Training & Awareness	Annual security training for staff	Attendance list, training content outline

A structure like this shows an assessor that you take CMMC readiness seriously and that your practices are repeatable.

---

How I Help You Get And Stay CMMC Ready

At RVA Tech Visions, my team and I work as your Business Technology Partner, not just a vendor.

We combine Technology Consulting with hands on services in:

• Small Business IT support that keeps your endpoints, servers, and networks in line with Level 1 and Level 2 expectations.
• Infrastructure Optimization for on premises and Data Center Technology, so your backups, segmentation, and logging support CMMC and Business Continuity & Security.
• Cloud Infrastructure planning, Secure Cloud Architecture, and Cloud Management that keep M365, Azure, and other SaaS platforms aligned with NIST SP 800-171 controls.
• Cybersecurity Services like Endpoint Security, Device Hardening, and monitoring that feed straight into assessment evidence.
• Tailored Technology Services and Innovative IT Solutions that support your broader Digital Transformation, not just compliance checkboxes.

For restaurant and hospitality clients that also support DoD sites or programs, we fold CMMC thinking into Restaurant POS Support and Kitchen Technology Solutions so guest systems do not expose sensitive networks.

In short, we line up your IT Strategy for SMBs with real contract needs, then keep it running.

---

Conclusion: Turn CMMC Readiness Into A Strength

CMMC will keep tightening between now and 2028, but you still have time to turn CMMC readiness into a strength, not a scramble.

If you handle FCI or CUI, now is the moment to map your controls to NIST SP 800-171, tune your cloud and on premises systems, and build an evidence trail that stands up in an assessment. The same work also improves everyday Business Continuity & Security, not just compliance.

If you want help turning these ideas into a concrete plan, I would be glad to walk your environment, review your current score, and design a clear path to readiness that fits your budget and contracts.