CMMC certification is now a requirement for defense contracts. If you work with the DoD, you need to decide how to approach compliance.
Many companies treat CMMC like an IT project. With 110 technical controls and cybersecurity tool requirements, it makes sense to hand it to IT. Give them a budget, and let them handle implementation.
This path seems logical. But it leads somewhere unexpected.
When CMMC gets assigned to IT alone, a familiar pattern unfolds. Gap assessments identify missing controls. Budgets get approved for tools. Technical controls get implemented, policies get written, and the IT team gets trained. Assessment gets scheduled.
Progress moves steadily forward. Controls get configured, documentation gets created, and boxes get checked.
This path moves quickly because technology can be purchased and set up on clear timelines. Systems get configured while policies get written and approved.
Then something changes.
Technical controls work when people use them correctly. But controls don't run themselves during daily work.
Questions start coming up:
Will teams follow procedures that add steps to their work?
Will security matter to people outside IT?
Will documentation stay current?
Will anyone besides IT take responsibility?
Will this last after certification?
These questions show something important. CMMC isn't just asking if systems are set up right. It's asking if your organization can work securely over time.
Technology answers the first question. Something else answers the second.
This is where paths split into two different directions.
Path one: Focus stays on technology. Controls get implemented and assessment happens. Certification might be achieved, but staying compliant becomes hard. Procedures don't get followed consistently. Documentation gets outdated. Outside help becomes necessary to maintain compliance.
Path two: Before implementing controls, focus moves to building organizational readiness. The question changes from "what controls do we need?" to "how do we build an organization that values security?"
Some organizations build culture along with technology.
Leadership goes first. Executives show that security matters through their own actions. They stay involved in decisions, and create responsibility beyond IT.
Teams help design procedures. Operations staff help create security processes instead of just receiving requirements. When people doing the work help build the process, they follow it better.
Understanding comes before implementation. Teams learn why protecting information matters before learning how. Understanding creates commitment, and commitment creates lasting compliance.
Security fits into existing work. New procedures work with current workflows instead of against them. When security helps work instead of slowing it down, people accept it more.
This path takes longer at the start. Culture takes months to build, not weeks.
Both paths can lead to certification. But they go to different places after that.
Organizations on path one get certified but struggle to stay that way. Compliance needs constant outside management. The organization never fully adopts secure operations as normal practice.
Organizations on path two get certified and stay that way naturally. Compliance maintains itself because the culture supports it.
CMMC looks like a technical requirement. That's why it gets treated as a technical project.
But the actual requirement is organizational. The question isn't "can you implement these controls?" It's "can your organization work securely over time?"
Complete CMMC readiness needs both parts:
Technical implementation
Organizational readiness
Most planning focuses only on technical implementation. The alternative is building organizational readiness first. Then you implement controls in a culture ready to use them.
CMMC compliance starts with a decision. Treat it as a technical project, or treat it as organizational transformation.
The question to ask before implementing any controls:
If those answers aren't clear yet, start there. That's how you build compliance that lasts.
Need guidance on building sustainable CMMC compliance? We help Michigan defense contractors build CMMC compliance that sustains itself. Learn how we can help your organization.