Accenture to Accelerate Federal Cloud Journey as a FedRAMP 3PAO
June 12, 2020
Following a rigorous review of our assessment methods by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), Accenture Federal Services is now a FedRAMP accredited Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO). Becoming a 3PAO expands our ability to help federal agencies tap into more innovative solutions, accelerate their journey to the cloud, and achieve greater cyber resilience.
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Becoming a 3PAO expands our ability to help federal agencies tap into more innovative solutions, accelerate their journey to the cloud, and achieve greater cyber resilience.
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Accenture has long partnered with the top cloud platform providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud, Salesforce, and ServiceNow. We are also recognized as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure Professional and Managed Services, Worldwide (February 26, 2019) and the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Cloud Professional Services 2020 Vendor Assessment (April 2020). Within the federal market, several of our solutions have achieved FedRAMP authorization, including the Accenture Insights Platform for Government, Accenture Federal Managed Detection and Response, and Accenture Federal ERP.
We will build upon this experience and expertise as a 3PAO. In this capacity, we may perform both initial and subsequent assessments of cloud service providers (CSP) seeking FedRAMP authorization at the Low, Medium, or High security baseline. This means we can work with these providers to determine specific provisions required for meeting FedRAMP requirements, offer testing and certification of these security controls as effective, and perform annual assessments to maintain authorization.
One of our focuses is on helping new providers bring their innovations to the federal marketplace faster and more effectively. For example, we track and engage with thousands of today’s most disruptive and exciting startups through the Accenture Innovation Architecture. We are also a strategic participant in a number of industry consortia and platforms. As a 3PAO, we can help all these organizations configure and certify their solutions to meet FedRAMP and other federal requirements.
At the same time, we are fully aware that FedRAMP is only a starting point, an acknowledgment that a cloud solution has met the baseline security requirements. The real test of cloud security lies in the implementation -- all the technical and tactical details surrounding the deployment of the new capability.
Serving as a 3PAO gives us a real understanding of what these controls specifically mean. Coupled with our long-standing leadership in cybersecurity, we can integrate these controls into our federal clients’ security fabric and align them with other security requirements, such as those associated with PCI DSS, HIPAA, and DoD’s Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs).
Finally, we are excited to have a broader platform to work with the FedRAMP PMO and other government entities to strengthen and enhance the security posture of the federal government. Today’s threats are dynamic, and technology is changing rapidly. Ongoing collaboration is critical to maintaining cyber resilience.
As always, we look forward to playing a pivotal role in enabling agencies to deploy the latest solutions securely and effectively. Our role as 3PAO will position us to be an even more effective partner not just in bringing new solutions to the federal space, but in implementing those solutions to maximum effect.
