Government contracts, GCC High migrations, enterprise client demands — the compliance pressure is real. We help small and mid-sized businesses get there without it taking over their year.
These acronyms can feel intimidating. Here’s what they actually mean for your business — and why they matter.
Most requested for DoD contractors
CMMC is the U.S. Department of Defense’s certification program for protecting sensitive government information — called CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information). If your company works on federal contracts or is in the DoD supply chain, CMMC certification isn’t optional: you’ll need it to bid on or renew those contracts.
There are three levels. Most small and mid-sized businesses land at Level 1 or Level 2. We help you figure out exactly where you stand and what it takes to get certified.
Who needs this? Defense contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, IT firms, and anyone in the DoD supply chain.
17 basic cybersecurity practices. Typically achievable with existing tools and policies. Annual self-assessment required.
110 advanced cybersecurity practices. Third-party assessment required for most CUI contractors. This is where most SMBs focus.
Government-led assessment. Designed for organizations working on the most sensitive DoD programs.
A dedicated Microsoft 365 environment for organizations handling ITAR-controlled or sensitive federal data. Physically separated from commercial cloud — U.S.-only, government-audited infrastructure. Migration requires careful planning and specific configuration.
Who needs this? Defense contractors, aerospace & defense firms, government agencies, and companies handling ITAR-controlled data.
An independent security audit verifying your controls protect customer data. Not a government requirement — but enterprise clients increasingly demand it before signing. Involves documenting policies, proving they’re followed, and having an auditor verify the work.
Who needs this? SaaS companies, managed service providers, healthcare IT vendors, financial services, and anyone selling to enterprise customers.
A voluntary but widely adopted framework from NIST that gives organizations a common language and structured approach for managing cybersecurity risk. CSF 2.0 — the current version — is built around six core functions: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.
Many organizations use CSF as a foundation before pursuing formal certification — or as a way to demonstrate security maturity to partners and stakeholders without the overhead of a full audit.
Who needs this? Any organization looking to build or improve a structured cybersecurity program — especially as a stepping stone toward CMMC, SOC 2, or other formal certifications.
Federal law requiring healthcare organizations and their business associates to protect the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI). HIPAA compliance covers administrative, physical, and technical safeguards — and violations carry significant financial and reputational consequences.
If your organization creates, receives, stores, or transmits PHI in any form — including through software, IT services, or cloud platforms — you are required to comply.
Who needs this? Healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and any business associate that handles PHI — including IT vendors, billing services, and cloud providers.
Most of our clients don’t have a compliance officer.
That’s fine, here’s how we fill the gap.
First, we find out where you actually stand. We dig into your current systems, policies, and practices and measure them against the framework — no sugarcoating, no 40-page report you’ll never read. Just a clear list of what needs to change and what doesn’t.
No overwhelming 200-item checklists. We prioritize what matters most and break work into realistic milestones.
This is where most consultants hand you a checklist and disappear. We don’t. We configure the settings, write the policies, and do the technical work alongside your team.
We help you gather evidence, organize documentation, and coach your team on what to expect when the assessor arrives.
Getting certified is the milestone. Staying certified is the job. We handle the ongoing monitoring, policy updates, and annual reviews so it doesn’t fall off your plate.
Compliance looks different depending on who you are, what data you handle, and who you answer to. Here’s how we approach it for the industries we work with most.
Trust gets harder to keep as regulation and scrutiny increases.
Financial institutions face a layered compliance environment — SOC 2 expectations from enterprise clients, state and federal data protection requirements, and increasing scrutiny around vendor risk management. A breach or failed audit doesn’t just cost money; it costs client trust.
We help banks, credit unions, wealth management firms, and fintech companies build the security controls and documentation needed to satisfy auditors, satisfy clients, and stay ahead of evolving regulations.
Contracts increasingly depend on proving formal compliance.
Manufacturers in the defense supply chain are under increasing pressure to demonstrate CMMC compliance — and the clock is ticking. Contracts that once had informal security expectations now require formal certification, and companies that aren’t prepared risk losing bids entirely.
We help manufacturing firms assess their current posture, close compliance gaps, navigate GCC High migrations for ITAR-controlled data, and get ready for third-party CMMC assessments.
Healthcare obligations now reach far beyond direct patient care.
Healthcare organizations and their vendors carry some of the heaviest compliance obligations of any sector. HIPAA isn’t optional, and the definition of who must comply is broader than most people realize — IT service providers, billing companies, and cloud vendors are all potentially in scope as business associates.
We help healthcare providers, health-adjacent technology companies, and business associates get their administrative, physical, and technical safeguards in order — and keep them there as your organization grows and changes.
Funding and sensitive data bring security duties many overlook.
Nonprofits are often overlooked in compliance conversations — but many handle sensitive donor data, grant requirements, healthcare-adjacent information, or government funding that comes with its own security strings attached. Limited budgets and small IT teams make it easy to let security posture slip.
We work with nonprofits to build practical, right-sized compliance programs that satisfy grant requirements, protect donor and client data, and don’t require a dedicated security department to maintain.
We’re not a giant consulting firm with generic playbooks. We’re a Seattle-area IT partner that works closely with small and mid-sized organizations every day.
CUI. ITAR. C3PAO. The acronyms multiply fast. We make sure you understand what you’re actually doing and why — not just that a checkbox is checked.
Enterprise compliance programs are often overkill for smaller organizations. We tailor our approach to fit your size, budget, and internal capacity — practical, not perfect.
Most compliance consultants give advice but not implementation. At Allixo, we do both — your compliance work stays in one place, with a team that understands your environment.
We’re in the Seattle area. Our clients are mostly in the Pacific Northwest. When something comes up, you call us — not a help desk in another time zone.
GCC High migrations and Microsoft 365 security hardening are a core part of what we do. We know the Microsoft ecosystem inside and out — a major advantage for compliance work.
We want your team to understand your own compliance posture. We document everything clearly and train your staff — so you’re not reliant on us for every small decision.
If you’re new to compliance, these questions probably sound familiar.
It depends on your starting point. Organizations that already have solid security practices might be ready for a Level 1 or Level 2 assessment within 3–6 months. If you’re starting from scratch, 6–12 months is more realistic. The good news: we help you prioritize, so you’re not spinning your wheels on low-impact items while high-priority gaps remain open.
It depends on the type of data you handle. If your contracts involve CUI or ITAR-controlled technical data, you almost certainly need GCC High. Regular Microsoft 365 — even with security hardening — doesn’t meet those requirements. We can review your contracts and data classification to give you a clear answer at no cost.
If your organization handles Protected Health Information (PHI) in any form — including through software, IT services, billing, or cloud storage — the answer is almost certainly yes. This includes not just healthcare providers but also IT vendors, managed service providers, and business associates who touch PHI on behalf of a covered entity. We can help you determine your obligations and get the right safeguards in place.
A Type I report is a point-in-time assessment verifying your security controls are properly designed as of a specific date. A Type II report covers a period of time (usually 6–12 months) and verifies your controls are actually operating effectively day-to-day. Most enterprise clients will ultimately want a Type II, but Type I is a great first step.
Honestly? It depends. The gap between “we’re already halfway there” and “we’re starting from scratch” is significant — and so is the price difference. We always start with a readiness assessment before quoting anything. What we can say: the cost of getting compliant is almost always less than the cost of losing a contract over it.
Good news: that describes most of our clients. A one- or two-person IT team is plenty to work with. We’ve helped plenty of organizations get CMMC certified and SOC 2 audit-ready without a dedicated security hire. You don’t need a CISO. You need a plan.
Yes, and there’s meaningful overlap between CMMC, NIST CSF, SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. We help clients map their compliance work across frameworks so you’re not duplicating effort. Often, meeting one framework well puts you most of the way toward another.
