Accurate FedRAMP High SSP in less than 4 hours

We often get asked, can Paramify really create my SSP(s) in hours?

Imagine realizing you need to create your FedRAMP ATO package in less than 2 weeks or your FedRAMP high authorization will be in danger. 

Does the thought make you die inside a little? If you’re manually writing nearly 2,000 pages of documentation, that’s a pretty reasonable response.

But, what if you could get it done in a single afternoon? What if the results were not only fast, but also more accurate than an SSP that took months to create? Here we’ll share how one company was able to keep their FedRAMP High authorization after generating an accurate, complete ATO package in just 3 ½ hours using Paramify.  

A Terrifyingly Close NIST 800-53 Rev 5 Transition Deadline

Our client, a cloud data protection software company, saw a lot of GRC expert turnover in 2023. The remaining employees did all they could to keep things afloat, but had to put their energy toward FedRAMP ConMon documentation. 

This didn’t leave time to migrate from Rev 4 to Rev 5 and the January 16th, 2024 deadline snuck up on them. Within 2 weeks, they needed an SSP, Appendix A-J, Customer Responsibility Matrix, Control Implementation Summary, Policies, and Procedures. 

Rev 5 means significant shifting. Manually making the changes would take well over a month to finish – even with an experienced GRC team figuring out which controls were changed, dropped, or added.

This company approached Brad Bartholomew for ideas. Brad had worked on projects with Paramify in the past so he understood Paramify's speed and quality. He suggested:

“The only thing I can think of is we contact Paramify.”

So they called.

Kenny, Paramify CEO and co-founder, got the call.

Brad asked, “Hey, we have a Rev 5 ATO package that is due in less than a week. We haven’t even started yet. Can you help out?”

Unfazed, Kenny replied, “Yeah, man.”

You see, using Paramify is like putting on a GRC themed Iron Man suit. You can do the intense work it takes to get an ATO package done faster and better with way less effort. Like, 15,000% less effort.

Rev 5 controls do not map 1:1 to Rev 4 controls. Thankfully Paramify Risk Solutions are designed to align with any control catalog to ensure seamless adaptation. We manage this transition for you.

Rev 4 to Rev 5 Transition in Hours

Completely confident that they could, starting from scratch, transition the entire ATO package to Rev 5 by the end of the day, Kenny blocked out a full 4 hours on his calendar for the project. 

Kenny said, "I had no concerns, honestly.“ 

On January 12, just four days before the Rev 5 deadline, Kenny met with the client's GRC team at 10 am. They started with an intake session, then Kenny presented their custom Risk Solutions, which the team collectively reviewed. After a leisurely lunch, they finalized the remaining details.

By 3:30 pm that day our client walked out the door with a REV 5 ATO package – including SSP, Appendices A-J, Customer Responsibility Matrix, Control Implementation Summary, Policies, and Procedures – ready to present to the PMO.

Schedule a free assessment to experience how this process would work for your organization.

Create Accurate SSPs the First Time

Manually creating such long, tedious documents takes too long and the documents become outdated by the time you finish them. All that effort for something that already needs more work! It’s exhausting. 

Manual documentation also has more inconsistencies and mistakes. Human errors are unavoidable in such a crazy-long document, especially as you make updates and changes over time. 

What happens when your PMO and 3PAO notice these inconsistencies? More more time and money that you otherwise could have used for other value-adding activities.

The Automated SSPs created with Paramify’s Risk Solutions are more accurate and easy to update as your system changes over time. 

As one 3PAO leader who works with some of our customers said to us: “Paramify customers who come to us are better prepared than other CSPs… Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Paramify customers who come to us are better prepared than other CSPs… Keep doing what you’re doing.” - 3PAO Leader

Can Paramify Create Your SSPs in Hours?

The client in this story already had their FedRAMP authorization and all of the required controls implemented. Preparing for their ATO was a documentation exercise. 

We needed to bring all the right people together to make sure the answers were correct during the intake process. We made sure the People, Places, and Things of their security program were identified and ingested into Paramify. This meant that during the next step, when their tailored Risk Solutions were generated, they were accurate. 

If you choose to use Paramify for your ATO, your experience may be similarly fast or it could take just a few days. 

Paramify Can Take Hours If You Already Have Controls in Place

If your security controls are already in place and you have the certifications and authorizations you need, a first revision of your ATO package with Paramify is achievable in a matter of hours.

If this is the case for your company, the process will go something like this:

1. 30-60 minute intake session to identify your system’s People, Places, & Things. Paramify automatically generates your tailored Risk Solutions.
2. Review Risk Solutions for accuracy and apply them to your controls.
3. Generate first revision of your ATO package.
4. Iterate and revise Risk Solutions as necessary.
5. Generate your ATO package.

New to Compliance? Start fast and finish in days with Paramify

If you’re in an earlier stage, you likely have some security controls in place, but you may not be quite sure which controls need to be satisfied to meet your compliance goals.  

There are a couple more steps to this process: 

1. 30-60 minute intake session to identify your system’s People, Places, & Things. Paramify automatically generates your tailored Risk Solutions.
2. Review Risk Solutions for accuracy and apply them to your controls.
3. Generate first revision of your ATO package.
4. Review security gap assessment to see what needs to be implemented to meet compliance goals.
5. Implement Risk Solutions identified in gap assessment, which may take days, weeks, or months depending on the identified gaps.
6. Update Risk Solutions as progress is made.
7. Generate your finalized ATO package.

As you can see, we’ll help you find and correct the gaps in your security program. You will still be able to generate a complete, accurate set of documents within days. 

Watch: How to review and iteratively improve your Risk Solutions

Try Paramify to See if it’s a Good Fit For You

Whether you’ve been dealing with security compliance documentation for decades or found out about it last Tuesday, it can be daunting, exhausting, and way too hard to get right. Paramify is taking the pain out of SSP and ATO package documentation for large and small companies and we’d love to have the chance to help you.

Schedule a demo today.