Large contractors in the defense industrial base (DIB) likely have security systems in place that are CMMC-compliant. Small to medium sized businesses, with more limited financial, human, and time resources, will find the transition a lot more challenging. Many are looking for the simplest solution and, for businesses currently using Microsoft’s Commercial O365, Microsoft’s GCC High is touted as exactly that. In reality, GCC High is prohibitively expensive, inefficient to deploy, and has reduced functionality compared to Commercial O365.

Fortunately, there are better alternatives out there. PreVeil is, on all fronts, the best option for small to medium sized businesses seeking to get started with CMMC compliance.

High Cost of Ownership

The cost of ownership of PreVeil is up to 75% cheaper than that of Microsoft’s GCC High. GCC High must be deployed universally across your team. PreVeil can be deployed selectively, for only those individuals who work with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Fewer licenses, and avoiding high migration fees, adds up to great savings.

Long Deployment Cycle

GCC High takes three to six months to deploy. For all of that time, businesses must pay significant fees to consultants to plan for and manage the lengthy, onerous process of decommissioning O365 or GSuite and onboarding GCC High. PreVeil can be deployed in just a matter of hours, through a quick and easy onboarding process managed free of expensive consulting fees. You not only save a significant amount of money and time, but you also get to experience the full benefits of state-of-the-art cybersecurity right away. There’s no lag time.

Constrained User Experience

GCC High may be produced by the same company as Commercial O365, but that doesn’t mean that the user experience will be the same. GCC High requires businesses to rip and replace their existing email system, even if that existing system is Commercial O365. GCC High has reduced functionality compared to Commercial O365, so many of Microsoft’s other products, like Microsoft Teams and other functions of the complete Office Suite, will no longer work as advertised. Learning how to make do without the usual tools comes with plenty of extra support strain on the business’s IT department.

GCC High may be produced by the same company as Commercial O365 but that doesn’t mean that the user experience will be the same. GCC High requires businesses to rip and replace their existing email system, even if that existing system is Commercial O365.

PreVeil provides a user interface that is straightforward and easy to use. The platform layers seamlessly over existing email accounts and lets users keep their existing email address. Users can continue using their Commercial O365 accounts with a virtually unchanged user experience, while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing their communications are truly private and secure. All interactions between users who handle CUI are automatically encrypted and shared over PreVeil, whereas interactions with people who don’t access CUI are over O365.

Legacy Security Architecture

With GCC High, CUI is still visible on servers, which means it can be compromised by attacks on the server or on the IT admins that have access to the accounts. User accounts still remain vulnerable to password attacks. GCC High’s security architecture remains grounded in the outmoded approach of protecting information by building “taller walls” to guard against attackers. Except, the attackers inevitably prevail as seen with compromises of well protected systems such as Twitter, Capital One, and Equifax.

PreVeil, on the other hand, protects information using the modern zero-trust approach to security. CUI remains secure even if it is stolen from the server or an IT admin is compromised. All emails and files sent through PreVeil are end-to-end encrypted by default. This means that no adversary or third party can view CUI on the server, not even PreVeil. CUI cannot even be compromised by stealing passwords as PreVeil is a passwordless system that uses unguessable, device-based encryption keys to grant access. End-to-end encryption using verifiable encryption algorithms tops the list of the NSA’s recently released official guidelines for secure collaborations.

PreVeil makes impeccable security effortless. Cost-savvy, efficiency-minded small to medium-sized businesses are best served by PreVeil.