As organizations across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) work toward CMMC certification, many struggle to keep compliance programs current without relying on tedious manual tracking and spreadsheets.
MRIGlobal — a scientific research organization supporting U.S. Government defense and national security missions — faced similar challenges. While the organization could meet requirements, its existing approach made it harder to maintain visibility and confidence as expectations increased.
That changed after adopting ASCERA. Time spent managing scattered documentation was reduced, and the team could focus more directly on control implementation and assessment readiness.
This interview highlights how ASCERA’s centralized Cyber GRC platform simplified MRIGlobal’s CMMC efforts through structured evidence management, continuous controls monitoring (ConMon), enhanced visibility, and more.
Background Overview
What types of contracts or work does your organization handle within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB)?
MRIGlobal operates within the Defense Industrial Base primarily as a scientific research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) organization supporting U.S. Government defense and national security missions.
Our work is largely focused on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) defense, including threat detection, diagnostics, biosurveillance, and warfighter protection technologies. We support the Department of Defense and related agencies through applied research, independent laboratory testing, system evaluation, and advanced analytics that inform operational and acquisition decisions.
MRIGlobal also designs and supports deployable and mobile laboratory capabilities, provides unbiased scientific assessments, and executes mission-aligned research under established federal contract vehicles. Overall, our role in the DIB is that of a trusted, non-profit scientific partner delivering objective, high-consequence technical solutions in support of defense readiness and national security.
Before ASCERA, how were you managing your CMMC or cybersecurity compliance requirements?
Before ASCERA, our CMMC and broader cybersecurity compliance efforts were managed through a combination of internally developed processes, policy documents, spreadsheets, and shared repositories. We relied heavily on manual control tracking, narrative documentation, and point-in-time evidence collection to support assessments and audits.
While this approach allowed us to remain compliant, it required significant coordination and discipline to maintain consistency, version control, and visibility across control families, enclaves, and stakeholders. Preparing for CMMC Level 2 amplified those challenges, as the need for structured traceability, repeatability, and ongoing readiness increased substantially. We recognized that sustaining compliance at scale would require moving beyond ad-hoc tools toward a more centralized, purpose-built platform.
Challenges Before ASCERA
What challenges or pain points were you facing prior to using ASCERA?
Prior to using ASCERA, our primary challenges centered around scale, visibility, and sustainability. Managing CMMC-aligned controls across multiple environments required extensive manual effort to track implementation status, maintain supporting evidence, and ensure documentation remained current and consistent. In other words, spreadsheet nightmares!
Evidence collection and validation were largely point-in-time activities, which made it difficult to maintain continuous awareness of control effectiveness. Additionally, mapping controls to policies, procedures, and technical artifacts required careful coordination and introduced risk around version control and traceability.
As we prepared for CMMC Level 2, it became clear that relying on spreadsheets and distributed documentation increased the operational burden on the team and limited our ability to quickly assess gaps, demonstrate maturity, or pivot as requirements evolved.
How were these challenges impacting your organization’s ability to stay compliant or prepare for CMMC certification?
These challenges didn’t prevent us from meeting requirements, but they did introduce inefficiencies and risk as we moved toward CMMC Level 2. A manual, point-in-time approach to compliance made it harder to quickly assess our readiness posture, prioritize remediation efforts, or confidently demonstrate consistency across control families.
As expectations around evidence quality, traceability, and repeatability increased, more time was spent validating documentation and reconciling artifacts rather than focusing on risk reduction and control improvement. Preparing for certification required significant effort to ensure accuracy and alignment, and it became clear that sustaining compliance over time would be increasingly resource-intensive without a centralized system to support continuous readiness.
The challenge wasn’t achieving compliance — it was sustaining confidence and readiness as the rigor of CMMC Level 2 increased.
Why You Chose ASCERA
What stood out to you about ASCERA compared to other solutions you evaluated?
What stood out about ASCERA was that it was clearly built with the right functionality at its core. The platform isn’t surface-level or cosmetic — it’s designed to directly support the intent of NIST 800-171 and the realities of maintaining compliance over time.
Rather than focusing on static, point-in-time assessments that begin to age the moment they’re completed, ASCERA’s Cyber GRC is structured around continuous visibility and control alignment. Each control is mapped in a way that supports ongoing validation, evidence traceability, and day-to-day operational use, which is exactly what CMMC Level 2 demands.
That depth and intentionality set ASCERA apart. It was evident that the platform was purpose-built to help organizations sustain compliance in real time, not just prepare for an audit.
Your Experience Using ASCERA
How has ASCERA helped you simplify or accelerate your CMMC compliance efforts?
ASCERA has simplified our CMMC compliance efforts by centralizing control management, documentation, and evidence into a single, structured Cyber GRC platform. Instead of coordinating across multiple tools and repositories, our team can quickly understand the status of each control, identify gaps, and see how policies, procedures, and technical evidence align.
From an acceleration standpoint, ASCERA reduces the time spent on manual tracking and reconciliation, allowing the team to focus on control implementation and risk reduction rather than administrative overhead. The platform enables us to move more efficiently from assessment to remediation, while maintaining confidence that documentation and evidence remain current and defensible.
Most importantly, ASCERA supports a continuous-readiness mindset. That shift has made preparation for CMMC Level 2 more predictable, repeatable, and sustainable over time.
ASCERA shifted us from managing compliance as an event to operating in a state of continuous readiness.
What specific features or capabilities have been the most valuable for your team? (e.g., Continuous Controls Monitoring (ConMon), POA&M tracking, automated evidence collection, policy mapping, reporting dashboard, etc.).
One of ASCERA’s most valuable features is its control matrix, which we often joke looks like a scientific periodic table of evidence. That visual structure makes it easy to understand the status of each NIST 800-171 control and easy to navigate about the platform, which is incredibly helpful for both day-to-day operations and assessment preparation.
ASCERA’s ability to catalog, identify, and manage evidence has also been a major strength. In some cases, the platform itself becomes part of the evidence simply by using it to support and document control implementation. Beyond that, the built-in evidence repository makes it easy to upload, organize, and maintain artifacts in a centralized and defensible way.
When it came time to submit our body of evidence to our C3PAO assessor, ASCERA’s custom export capability was a standout. The platform generated a structured export with evidence organized by control in a single package, which significantly streamlined the review process. In fact, our assessor specifically commented on how easy the body of evidence was to navigate.
How has ASCERA improved your visibility into compliance or risk posture?
ASCERA has significantly improved our visibility into compliance by providing a real-time, centralized view of control implementation, evidence status, and risk areas. Instead of relying on fragmented updates or manual rollups, we can quickly understand where we stand across NIST 800-171 control families at any given time through ConMon.
From a risk perspective, the platform allows us to identify gaps earlier, track remediation efforts through POA&Ms, and prioritize work based on impact and maturity. That level of visibility enables more informed decision-making and reduces uncertainty as we prepare for assessments.
Perhaps most importantly, ASCERA provides confidence. It allows us to move from reactive compliance management to proactive oversight, ensuring we maintain awareness of our posture rather than discovering issues late in the process.
Have you seen measurable results or improvements since implementing ASCERA? (Examples: reduced audit prep time, better documentation, faster gap closure, etc.).
Yes, we’ve seen clear and measurable improvements since implementing ASCERA, particularly in how efficiently we prepare for assessments and manage documentation. The time and effort required to validate evidence, confirm control alignment, and assess readiness has been significantly reduced.
Documentation quality and consistency have improved as well. With controls, policies, and evidence managed in a centralized platform, we spend less time reconciling artifacts and more time closing gaps and strengthening implementations.
ASCERA has reduced the overall friction associated with audit preparation. Readiness activities are more predictable, progress is easier to track, and the team can approach assessments with greater confidence and less last-minute effort.
Partnership and Support Experience
How would you describe your experience working with the ASCERA team?
Working with the ASCERA team has been an extremely positive experience. They bring a deep level of expertise around CUI and CMMC requirements, but they communicate it in a way that is patient, practical, and approachable. At times, the experience feels less like working with a vendor and more like collaborating with professors who genuinely want to teach, mentor, and see you succeed.
What’s been especially valuable is their continued engagement even after certification. The team remains invested in helping us maintain our posture, refine our processes, and ensure that compliance is sustained over time rather than treated as a one-time achievement. That ongoing partnership has reinforced confidence and kept us moving forward in the right direction.
How responsive or helpful has our customer support been when you’ve had questions or requests?
ASCERA’s customer support has been consistently responsive and highly effective. Questions are addressed promptly, and when deeper discussion is needed, the team takes the time to ensure we fully understand both the issue and the solution.
Support interactions feel collaborative rather than transactional, and the guidance provided is always grounded in a strong understanding of CMMC and CUI requirements. We’ve had zero concerns regarding responsiveness or helpfulness, which has made a meaningful difference throughout the compliance process.
How do you feel about the way ASCERA listens to customers and evolves the product?
ASCERA does an excellent job of actively listening to its customers and incorporating real-world feedback into the platform. We have recurring meetings with the ASCERA team where we can openly discuss user experience, functionality, and feature ideas, and those conversations routinely translate into meaningful product improvements.
That collaborative approach reinforces confidence that ASCERA is evolving alongside its customers and staying aligned with the needs of organizations operating within the Defense Industrial Base.
Impact and Outcomes
What impact has ASCERA had on your overall compliance process or confidence heading into CMMC certification?
ASCERA has fundamentally changed how we approach compliance and readiness. The evolution it has enabled in our compliance capabilities is comparable to the shift from pen and paper to modern, intelligent tooling. It’s not just faster, but categorically more effective.
Heading into CMMC certification, ASCERA provided a level of confidence that came from knowing our controls, evidence, and documentation were aligned, current, and defensible. Compliance stopped being something we prepared for and became something we actively maintained.
Looking Ahead
How do you see ASCERA fitting into your long-term compliance and cybersecurity strategy?
ASCERA is now a foundational component of our long-term compliance and cybersecurity strategy. We have leveled up our cybersecurity capabilities for the organization with ASCERA and it supports how we continuously manage, monitor, and mature our security posture over time.
From a strategic standpoint, ASCERA helps ensure that compliance scales with the organization and remains aligned with mission delivery. It allows us to move forward with confidence, knowing that our approach to CMMC and cybersecurity is durable, defensible, and built for the long term.
Can you share a short story or example of a time ASCERA made a big difference for your team?
The technology itself is excellent, and ASCERA has proven to be one of the best investments I’ve made as Director of Cybersecurity at MRIGlobal. But for me and my team, that’s not the biggest difference.
The real difference has been the people behind the platform. The ASCERA team has consistently shown up as true partners — working alongside us, ensuring expectations were met, and helping us prepare thoroughly for our assessment. They were willing to comb through large volumes of evidence with us, validate that every detail was addressed, and take the time to walk through controls repeatedly until everything was clearly understood.
That level of commitment, patience, and shared ownership is what ultimately made the difference. It wasn’t just about using a tool — it was about having experienced professionals on our side who were genuinely invested in our success.
If you had to describe ASCERA in one sentence to another organization, what would you say?
ASCERA turns CMMC compliance from a point-in-time exercise into a sustainable, continuously managed discipline.