For decades, DoW acquisitions operated under a painful tradeoff: deliver software fast or deliver it securely and compliantly—but rarely both.
The steps to achieve a traditional Authorization to Operate (ATO) stall progress. Teams build for months only to stall during security reviews. The result is "shelfware"—compliant but irrelevant code delivered too late for the mission.
The DoW's emphasis on modern software delivery demands that teams continuously maintain compliance. That’s the role of ongoing authorization for continuous delivery, commonly referred to as continuous Authority to Operate (cATO); it’s the rigorous, real-time application of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Risk Management Framework (RMF), integrated into every release.
But getting there requires both the technical and contractual how. Achieving cATO after initial ATO requires deep experience, embedded security practices, and real DevSecOps familiarity. Many teams lack the internal experience or capacity, making external support essential. The fastest way to bring in a team that has done it before, and has the outcomes in production to prove it, is through the Rise8 SDO IDIQ.
To help you understand how you can leverage the single award Rise8 SDO IDIQ, We've built a comprehensive guide, The DoW Acquisition Handbook. It details the statutory language, the step-by-step Task Order process, and how you can map Rise8’s full range of capabilities available through the Rise8 AFWERX SDO IDIQ.
Download The DoW Acquisition Handbook
If you haven't yet, read our first post on Bypassing the Bureaucracy to learn more about the contractual how and to cut your award timeline from 8-18+ months to as little as 30 days.
The Rise8 SDO IDIQ: A Pre-Vetted Path to Secure, Continuous Delivery
The Rise8 AFWERX SDO IDIQ is a rapid mechanism to acquire the exact expertise and capabilities necessary to achieve high-velocity, secure deployments in the most complex environments.
By using this Phase III SBIR contract, you will bring in the full capability of a proven software delivery team that has repeatedly and continuously operationalized continuous RMF implementation, delivering secure software in production, fast. Here is how the SDO IDIQ enables you to achieve security at the speed of the mission:
1. Proven Expertise in Ongoing Authorization (cATO) and Secure Delivery.
Achieving cATO requires deep fluency in secure software practices, technical controls, and the NIST RMF, not as a checklist, but as a continuous delivery discipline. Rise8 SDO teams bring:
- Platform-Agnostic Integration: We architect and implement secure delivery pipelines that maximize control inheritance and automation—regardless of platform—accelerating both initial and ongoing authorization.
- Embedded Security Engineers : Our teams integrate security engineers from Day 1, ensuring security scans, control validation, vulnerability remediation, evidence generation, and continuous monitoring are automated within the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), not bolted on afterward.
- Standardized RMF Artifacts : We produce complete, traceable, real-time documentation that supports zero-based initial authorization and seamless transition to ongoing authorization, reducing assessment friction and the labor and time typically required for documentation and compliance review.
2. Software Delivery as a Secure Service
The Rise8 SDO IDIQ scopes delivery end-to-end—from infrastructure automation to application deployment—under a unified, secure delivery model. Every Task Order bakes security into the work, leveraging the Phase III SBIR’s pre-vetted capabilities to accelerate RMF execution and operational outcomes. We enable:
- Continuous Monitoring: Automated evidence collection and real-time system boundary monitoring to reduce the risk of compliance drift and eliminate the need for traditional, static reauthorization cycles.
- Compliance as Code: Security controls are codified, enforced, and auditable, ensuring every deployable change meets requirements without adding manual overhead or delays.
3. Reduced Program Risk and Real-Time Acceleration
By selecting a pre-cleared SDO partner with a record of delivering outcomes in production into the most demanding environments, you immediately mitigate two major program risks:
- Compliance Risk: You avoid using vendors who promise “DevSecOps” but can’t prove RMF execution or ongoing authorization in live environments. Rise8 doesn’t just talk security—we ship it, continuously.
- Schedule Risk: You cut out the months of contract delay, replacing it with immediate, outcome-driven work. Your product team can start building secure delivery pipelines today, instead of six months from now.
The speed of the Rise8 IDIQ allows you to launch your modernization effort while your requirements—and your threats—are still current.
The Best of Both Worlds: Speed and Security Without Compromise
The Rise8 AFWERX SDO IDIQ is your compliant, production-ready path to embedding proven DevSecOps teams and methodologies that deliver software securely, rapidly, and continuously.
Don’t let security compliance become the anchor that sinks your mission timeline. Use the fastest, most compliant acquisition vehicle available to access a partner that wrote the book on cATO.
Ready to Launch Your Secure, High-Speed Software Program?
Our handbook, The DoW Acquisition Handbook, details the precise steps your contracting office needs to leverage the single-award Phase III SBIR authority, ensuring speed without sacrificing security and compliance.
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