6 Tips to Choosing the CMMC Enclave That is Right for Your Business

The CMMC program is phasing in, and many are wondering how to get compliant quickly, to avoid losing contracts, and without replacing their entire IT system. If this is you, you’re not alone.

A practical path for some DoD contractors is a CMMC enclave. An enclave is an information environment that is separated from that of the enterprise organization for the use of those individuals who transmit, store, and process CUI. An enclave is not recommended for all contractors, especially those who have CUI that flows throughout the organization and cannot practically be restricted to a “zone” with a limited scope.

An enclave can allow businesses without those prohibitions to achieve compliance within a smaller footprint and often a shorter timeline. A CMMC enclave has some specific policies and procedures for the express purpose of securing CUI that differ from the larger organization.

This is exactly why many businesses and C3PAOs use our SecureCMMC℠ enclave.

Fact: Not All Enclaves Are The Same.

If you are shopping CMMC enclaves, there are several important details you'll want to explore upfront to ensure you don't waste money or time on a solution that will not work for your business in the long run.

Below are a few considerations you'll want to think through.

1. Owning Versus Leasing Your Solution

Many lower-cost providers operate on a pay-to-play service model. The initial cost is lower, but the long-term costs can be much higher.

This means your provider holds the keys to the tenant, the policies, and the logs, and you are renting your enclave. This is beneficial to a provider as it keeps a business locked in to their service. Switching providers at any point will require a business to purchase a new enclave and, in many cases, undergo another CMMC Level 2 assessment.

With an enclave from MNS Group, you keep the keys and the records. The enclave is yours. Sure, we'll help you set it up and administer it, but the solution lives with your business. We are confident you'll enjoy working with us, but if you choose to move on, your enclave goes with you.

2. Start Small, Scale As Needed

Most companies don’t need an enterprise-wide CMMC scope on day one. With an MNS Group enclave, you can start with the specific people, systems, and workflows that touch CUI, and nothing more. As your contracts grow, you can add teams, apps, and data inside the enclave without turning the rest of your business upside down.

That means:

• Bring a new program on board? Add it inside the existing boundary.
• Need more storage or new workloads? Expand the enclave, while keeping the controls consistent.
• Hiring new team members? Provision users to the enclave, not the entire enterprise.

Scaling this way manages overhead costs, keeps your security strong, and your audit story simple.

3. Thrive in the Environment You Have

Stay within the environment your business already operates in, saving time and headaches of learning a new system.

• Strong identity and MFA for anyone touching CUI.
• Role-based access and least privilege by default.
• Encrypted data at rest and in transit.
• Clear boundaries and deny-by-default network policies.
• Standardized logging and monitoring so you can show your homework.

4. In The Office, Home, Lab, or Field

Compliance doesn’t stop at the office doors. Whether your team is in a hangar, at a client site, or out in the field, SecureCMMC℠ is designed for real-world work, enabling;

• Remote access with strong identity and device checks.
• No split tunneling for CUI sessions.
• Encrypted connections end-to-end.
• Clear policies for mobile devices and removable media.
• Tight control over external connections and data sharing.

In short, your people can do their jobs from the places they are deployed, and you can still demonstrate control of CUI every step of the way.

 5. An Enclave For Faster Compliance Than “Full Enterprise”

There are two reasons for this: scope and clarity.

Scope: Instead of pulling your entire IT universe into CMMC, you focus on the NIST SP 800-171 controls where they actually matter. Fewer systems in scope means fewer configurations to harden, fewer logs to track, and fewer edge cases to explain. You put your time and budget into the CUI zone, the part an assessor cares about.

Clarity: An enclave gives you a tight, auditable story. You can show the boundary, the user roles, the data flows, the technical controls, the policies, and the evidence, all tied to the same map. That makes assessments less complex and remediation faster. If you do end up with a handful of open items, you close them out against a known plan, not a moving target spread across the whole company.

6. Flexibility: Scale to Enterprise Any Time

One of the most important features: every enclave procured through MNS Group can convert to a full enterprise solution at any time. If enterprise is in your future, SecureCMMC℠ is the best all-around solution that scales with your business. 

• This saves time and money, ensuring you won't need a different solution down the road
• Retain processes and muscle memory, as your employees will not need to train on a new system
• Advance to full enterprise at your own pace, person by person

The Takeaway - SecureCMMC℠ To Get Compliant

A SecureCMMC℠ enclave is the fastest, cleanest way to get to CMMC Level 2 with confidence:

• The solution trusted by 20% of C3PAOs
• You own the environment and the artifacts.
• You scale at your pace.
• You can use Chromebooks, PCs, Mac, or Linux
• Your team can work anywhere, safely and provably.
• You reach assessment readiness faster with a focused scope.

Thinking About Going Full Enterprise?

Schedule some time to talk to one of our experts. Let’s talk through your data flows, programs, and contract mix. If an enclave gets you there faster, we’ll map it. If your reality points to enterprise-wide certification, we’ll lay out a plan that doesn’t derail your business.