A large-scale defense contractor and global manufacturing leader in high-performance engineered aerospace solutions faced mounting compliance challenges as stringent regulations like the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) became vital for manufacturers. To continue competing for lucrative projects in the tightly controlled defense and aerospace sectors, the contractor sought a data center partner that could secure the company’s mission-critical data and systems, including its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-controlled data, within an industry-compliant environment.
Requiring high control over resources and operational flexibility, the contractor partnered with Ark. The proximity, precision, security and growth capabilities of Ark’s purpose-built data centers positioned it as the ideal infrastructure provider to handle the contractor’s complex workloads.
With an impending government cybersecurity audit on the horizon, the contractor needed to rapidly transition to a data center provider offering a secure infrastructure and deep manufacturing industry expertise to pass the audit and remain competitive.
As regulations like CMMC grew increasingly vital for manufacturers, the contractor required an environment that provided high control over its sensitive systems and data. And, with DoD contracts comprising approximately 20% of its business, robust compliance with CMMC, ITAR and cybersecurity mandates was imperative to the contractor’s ability to bid on new projects.
Facing uncertainty in the scope of the migration, the contractor sought a flexible environment with ample room for growth. The data center also needed to be geographically close to core operations for easy access when required.
Enter Ark. Recognizing Ark’s steadfast commitment to compliance and cybersecurity, the contractor migrated its workloads into two Ark data centers; one for mission-critical systems and the other for geographic redundancy.
As the audit approached, Ark acted quickly to execute a seamless migration and help the contractor overcome its pressing compliance obstacles. Ark’s responsiveness and collaboration enabled both teams to efficiently resolve the few issues encountered.
During the audit, Ark provided tours and addressed questions about the facility’s capacity, security, redundancy and staff. Supported by Ark’s secure and compliant infrastructure, the contractor passed the audit with ease, empowering it to compete for contracts in highly regulated industries.
Looking ahead, Ark remains dedicated to helping the contractor navigate future compliance assessments and regulatory changes. By working closely together and proactively making necessary adjustments, Ark ensures that the contractor is always well-prepared to meet evolving cybersecurity requirements and maintain its strong competitive position.
Partnering with Ark empowered the defense contractor to fortify its cybersecurity posture and amplify its competitiveness. This strong partnership has led the contractor to achieve:
Ark’s rigorous controls and secure environment enabled the contractor to meet strict CMMC, NIST and ITAR requirements. As a result, the contractor achieved a major reduction in compliance-related findings during internal audits, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in remediation costs.
With robust compliance frameworks in place, the contractor can now confidently pursue and win a broader range of government-regulated contracts.
Ark’s agile environment effortlessly accommodates the contractor’s growing workloads while delivering high availability. By migrating to Ark’s infrastructure, the contractor gained peace of mind with a 100% SLA uptime for its mission-critical applications.
Leveraging insights from Ark’s CAB, the contractor stays at the forefront of manufacturing trends, technologies and best practices.
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