VMware has announced its Government Services offering has achieved Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High Authorization from the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). VMware Government Services includes VMware Carbon Black Cloud and VMware SD-WAN on AWS GovCloud in the U.S. 

These services aim to allow U.S. government agencies and customers supporting the government to migrate, manage, and operate sensitive workloads in the cloud. In addition to SD-WAN, Government Services also includes software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service, and infrastructure-as-a-service capabilities. These services deliver applications “at the speed that government agencies demand” and enable organizations to operate across data centers, the edge, and cloud, according to a press release about the news.

The new authorization comes in the wake of VMware Cloud on AWS GovCloud (US) achieving FedRAMP High JAB authorization as well as Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Impact Level 5 (IL5) provisional authorization in April.

“The launch of VMware Government Services furthers our commitment to help agencies meet mission demands by accelerating the time-to-market for VMware cloud services,” Jennifer Chronis, VMware’s VP of public sector, told SDxCentral in an email. “With FedRAMP High Authorization, agencies can quickly roll out cost-effective, secure, and compliant offerings to modernize their infrastructures and accelerate multicloud initiatives. Our goal is to be a strategic partner to our public sector customers, delivering the innovation agencies have come to expect from VMware.”

Chronis said the solution allows agencies, such as law enforcement, health care, and finance that must remain compliant with Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FIMSA) to adopt cloud hosted SaaS solutions. It is also a component of multi-layered security strategies when implementing initiatives such as Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 and fast-tracks the journey to zero-trust architecture.

According to Chronis, the Department of Justice and United States Marshals Service are already leveraging VMware Government Services.

In April, VMware released results of a commissioned Forrester study which showed that government agencies are prioritizing secure multicloud adoption. 

The study reached 500 agency leaders and IT decision makers at federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. and Canada. It found 74% of respondents choose cloud providers by prioritizing security, and 57% of agencies are concerned about data security as they increase cloud adoption.

The public sector is seeing widespread preparation for multicloud adoption, with giants like Microsoft and Oracle touting the “multicloud evolution.” A 2020 Splunk report found 67% of senior executives surveyed reporting that their organization has accelerated its plans for cloud adoption.

The Forrester study report supported that number, noting “smart agencies are moving to multicloud,” which it claims is also the new reality for government agencies. The report added that complex cloud environments like those associated with these types of organizations are often successful when using the “right blend” of cloud, cloud-native applications, security vendors, and cloud management tools in a multicloud environment.

The expanded VMware FedRAMP Authorized offerings at the High Impact Level are meant to help agencies accelerate their digital transformation timelines. They are now available on the vendor’s FedRAMP Marketplace.

“As agencies look to evolve their IT infrastructures, secure, reliable access to cloud, apps and services is top of mind. VMware Government Services has established a centralized architecture that will accelerate authorizations to help customers innovate faster,” Chronis said.