IBM Achieves U.S. Government's First FedRAMP Mobile Authorization

  • Aug 13, 2015

IBM announced that its cloud-based MaaS360 platform is the first Enterprise Mobility Management solution to receive a Provisional Authorization to Operate (P-ATO) from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Joint Authorization Board (JAB). MaaS360 is used by more than 50 federal organizations, including the General Services Administration, the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to securely enable their mobile technology, and can now be used across all agencies with this new certification.

FedRAMP is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. This framework saves time and staff required to conduct redundant agency security assessments. According to @FedRAMP, in the last six months, the program has saved the government $70 million and increased cloud usage by 41 percent.

“Having met all the stringent security requirements of the FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board, comprised of the CIOs of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, MaaS360 from IBM is now a FedRAMP compliant cloud service able to be authorized for use across all federal agencies,” said FedRAMP Director Matt Goodrich.

Delivered as a cloud service, MaaS360 allows organizations to instantly monitor and control smartphones, tablets and PCs, including personally owned devices. In addition, MaaS360 provides advanced security through integration with IBM Security Access Manager for Identity Management and IBM Trusteer for Threat Management. The combination of these technologies powers a comprehensive set of mobile management and security capabilities across users, devices, apps, content and transactions. This is critical for government agencies, financial services and other industries with enhanced security requirements.

“Federal agencies are demanding secure mobility solutions to support their desire to transform business processes and improve services to citizens, the military and government workers," said Anne Altman, General Manager, IBM Federal. “The FedRAMP authorization recognizes IBM's commitment to delivering the best mobile management and security experiences to help our clients usher in a more mobile-centric era through the cloud.”

MaaS360 joins a portfolio of FedRAMP compliant IBM cloud services, including theSoftLayer Federal cloudSmartCloud for Government.

JAB is the primary governance group of the FedRAMP program, consisting of the chief information officers of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. General Services Administration.

The IBM MobileFirst portfolio helps businesses adopt mobile technology to better engage with customers and to extend their businesses to new markets. MaaS360 (MobileFirst Protect) includes cloud-based capabilities, delivering a comprehensive mobile management and security solution for global organizations of all sizes. These capabilities support IBM’s vision for enterprise mobility management, which also encompasses the lifecycle management of apps and security of transactions between businesses, partners and customers.

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