FISMA Moderate Requirements met with AWS Infrastructure

Effectual led a Federal Government client in their journey from on-premises infrastructure to a secure cloud environment in AWS.

The Challenge

This Federal Government customer required a move from its on-premises infrastructure to a centralized cloud environment. This move was predicated on the requirement for increased security, flexibility in provisioning infrastructure, and a refresh of technology. The new AWS infrastructure must also be assessed at a FISMA Moderate level for production.

The Solution

Our team led the discovery, architecture, and implementation of an agency’s new infrastructure. We designed a multi-region, international architecture that allowed end users to quickly access virtual desktops at regions closest to those users. The centralized management and region-based architecture allowed devices to move outside the boundary, the virtual desktops infrastructure scaled as users joined around the world, and the agency was able to provision lower cost technology, such as thin clients, to achieve a refresh.

The Benefits

Increased Security

Our team supported the agency in its ATO efforts by provisioning compliant infrastructure and services in alignment with FISMA Moderate controls, then produced documentation supporting the architecture, allowing the agency to get a full ATO.

Provisioning Infrastructure

Our AWS-based architecture and deployment supported configuration of infrastructure to meet minimum workloads, which then scaled as users came online. Additionally, multiple user desktops could be provisioned on a single server, cutting down on associated costs.

Network Efficiency

The agency’s network needed to be overhauled as a result of security concerns. With the AWS backbone and multi-region architecture, users experienced a decrease in latency and the zero-trust model improved network security.