IBM achieves first FedRAMP mobile authorization
IBM announced Thursday its cloud-based MaaS360 platform has become the first enterprise mobility management tool to receive FedRAMP approval.
MaaS360 was granted a provisional authority to operate, or ATO, by the FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board, which comprises the chief information officers of the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and the General Services Administration.
Delivered over the cloud, MaaS360 allows organizations to monitor and control all types of endpoint devices: smartphones, tablets and PCs, including personally owned devices. It also has built-in identity management and threat management tools, allowing agencies to keep an eye on users, devices, apps, content and transactions.
“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,” IBM Federal General Manager Anne Altman said in a release. “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.”
The service has already been in use at over 50 government agencies, including the Commerce and Interior Departments, after earning a FISMA Moderate Authority to Operate in 2011.
“We were doing FedRAMP before there was a FedRAMP, that concept of ‘do once, use many,’” Jeff Ward, the U.S. federal lead for MaaS 360, told FedScoop.
MaaS360 is the third product from IBM to earn a FedRAMP ATO, joining SoftLayer Federal cloud and SmartCloud for Government.
The ATO comes as FedRAMP, short for Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, has been touting its success. According to an Aug. 6 tweet, the program is has saved the government $70 million and increased cloud use by 41 percent over the past six months.
