100 of Summit 7’s clients now hold Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 Certifications; each of these contractors has taken an essential step toward securing the Department of War’s (DoW’s) supply chain.
Those still waiting to become certified should take these five lessons from those who have completed their certifications, starting with one of the most powerful: mindset.
Clients that have passed their Level 2 assessments span an array of industries, but all share determination, accountability, and foresight.
The majority of Summit 7’s certified clients began work on optimizing their environments for CMMC before it became legally required on November 10th, 2025; about half even became CMMC Level 2 certified before then. This tells us that they are determined to stay competitive and protect federal data. These companies are not only compliant because they have to be, but to protect United States security and ensure competitiveness for sizable contract awards from the DoW.
Businesses that aren’t determined to pursue compliance quickly will lose contract opportunities to companies that took initiative. In addition to being unable to take award for contracts handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) companies who are not serious about compliance may also be passed over by prime contractors that intend to implement hard requirements later.
Compliance leadership starts with mindset, and that includes treating CMMC as a strategic advantage, not a burden.
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) or Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) can guide your business toward compliance, but your C-level executives have to take the lead by advocating for emphasis on security culture within your organization. They need to be willing to dedicate time to the process and make structural changes across the organization. Executive support is critical for when the management team receives internal pressure or pushback.
The C-suite cannot put the burden entirely on their IT directors or any other member of their staff and call it a day. CMMC is not solely an IT problem to solve; it must be a priority within large-scale company operations. With your organization’s priorities aligned, expert guidance can come in to help teams turn good intentions into compliant practices.
Collaboration between leadership, IT, and compliance partners is paramount to long-term success.
While it is possible for an organization to pass their CMMC Level 2 assessment using only in-house resources, guidance from experts is essential to avoiding false starts and reaching CMMC goals on-time and under budget.
At Summit 7, our role is guiding you through the gray areas, interpreting requirements, identifying scope, and managing change. Our clients have repeatedly said that Summit 7’s guidance was indispensable to achieving their certifications.
For example, one of our clients was certain that they had addressed all 110 controls but quickly found out that they had missed several key technical and procedural controls when assessment preparation began with Summit 7. Our technical and compliance teams quickly corrected their documentation and technical controls. We brought the client to understand what is needed for each control. By the time of their audit, all they needed was for us to confirm that they were correct.
Expert partners reduce your organization’s learning curve, prevent costly mistakes, and shorten your certification timeline.
When companies discuss the resources needed to get CMMC certified, they typically focus heavily (or even solely) on staffing and budget. Now that CMMC Phase One has begun, they need to weigh time more heavily. Even the most secure companies take 6-12 months between starting their assessment preparation and scheduling their assessment.
There is no grace period, and government program managers and contracting officers can and do require CMMC Level 2 Certifications now. Prime contractors are already requiring CMMC third-party certifications to join teams for contracts expected in the next year.
MSPs and CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAOs) offering assessments and support are already seeing an uptick of requests. As hard requirements appear in a larger number of contracts, the reality of CMMC continues to dawn on the rest of the industry, leading to longer MSP and C3PAO wait-times.
Another important timeline component is your company’s timeline to assessment. One of the worst things clients do is wait to call on Summit 7 until it is too late in their assessment preparation. If your MSP is not involved until a week before polished artifacts are needed for your assessment, there will not be enough time to dissect your environment or fine-tune for configuration drift that may have occurred. Given adequate time, we can find and fix any configuration drift or outdated protections, but these projects need attention and care to reach fruition.
Early preparation means less waiting for support and more time to perfect your systems, resulting in faster certification and avoiding false starts.
Many see certification as an end goal, but that’s really just the beginning. Getting your CMMC Level 2 Certification is an impressive feat, but all it does is make you eligible for contracts that require it. Qualifying for a contract is not enough to fulfill it.
Once certified, you must maintain the infrastructure that earned your certification and execute your continuous operations plans and operate according to the policies and procedures that you put in place for certification. Additionally, you must annually assess and attest to the current state of your environment. If you are unable to do that, you will lose your certification and your contracts. Worse, you would put CUI at risk.
The ideal time to get CMMC Level 2 certified was in 2025, in advance of the beginning of the Phase One rollout, but the next best time is right now. It’s time to shift your mindset, unify your organization, and turn to certification experts. If you have yet to start your assessment preparation, Summit 7 can still get you certified in enough time to win a competitive edge.