OSIbeyond CMMC Review: An Independent, Source-Checked Profile for Defense Contractors

By The Defense Compliance Report Editorial Team · Last verified: June 9, 2026 · Educational profile — not legal, contractual, compliance, or assessment advice

That’s the verdict most readers came for. Here’s the part no other result will tell you: nearly everything currently ranking for this search was written or placed by OSIbeyond itself — including the trade-press coverage. We checked. So we built the page that didn’t exist: what holds up under independent verification, what’s company-stated, what it really costs once the exclusions land, and exactly who should — and shouldn’t — put this firm on a shortlist.

What we verified — and what we couldn’t

The 30-second fit read

Who is OSIbeyond? The two-minute version

OSIbeyond is a managed IT and cybersecurity provider headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, founded in 2004 by President & CEO Payam Pourkhomami, serving small and mid-sized organizations — defense contractors, nonprofits, and associations — with onsite coverage in the DC/Maryland/Virginia corridor and remote service nationwide. Its CMMC practice dates to January 2021, when it became one of the early Registered Provider Organizations in what was then the CMMC-AB ecosystem, now the Cyber AB.

The shorthand: this is not a four-person consultancy that discovered CMMC last quarter, and it is not a national platform either. It’s a two-decade-old regional MSP that bet on CMMC early and built its defense practice around the Microsoft government cloud.

Is OSIbeyond a legitimate CMMC provider? Here’s what actually checks out.

On the two claims an outsider can independently check, OSIbeyond holds up: it carries a Cyber AB Registered Provider Organization listing (RPO-1237, checked in the Marketplace on June 9, 2026), and it announced its own CMMC Level 2 certification on April 30, 2025 — describing itself as among the first managed services providers to publicly complete a third-party Level 2 assessment. Legitimate credentials are not the same thing as the right fit or a fair price; those come later in this review.

First, precision on what an RPO is, because the term gets inflated in sales conversations. A Registered Provider Organization is a company registered with the Cyber AB (the official accreditation body for the CMMC ecosystem) to provide consulting and readiness services to organizations seeking certification. Registration means the firm signed the Cyber AB’s code of professional conduct and is listed in the official Marketplace. It is not a quality certification, and it grants no authority to conduct or grant CMMC assessments. This matters specifically because OSIbeyond’s own website uses the phrase “CMMC Level 2 certified partner” in some materials — a phrasing that would be misleading on its own, but that OSIbeyond couples with clear disclosure that it’s an RPO and cannot conduct assessments. Verify the RPO listing and current status yourself at cyberab.org before any engagement.

The more interesting credential is the second one. On April 30, 2025, OSIbeyond announced it had completed its own third-party CMMC Level 2 assessment — the same 110-requirement, 320-assessment-objective gauntlet (NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2, measured against NIST SP 800-171A) it sells readiness for. Under 32 CFR Part 170, external service providers that aren’t cloud service providers are notrequired to hold their own CMMC certification — so OSIbeyond went through this voluntarily. What that signals isn’t a guarantee; it’s a data point about institutional seriousness and about the provider’s ability to produce the artifacts your assessor will want to see.

Their CISO’s published account of that assessment is worth reading even if you never hire them. In a January 2026 interview at GovCon Wire, Michael Soepnel described roughly four to five months of focused preparation — on top of an existing NIST SP 800-171 compliance program — plus a deliberate 30-day buffer before the assessment date to triple-check the System Security Plan, and a recommendation that most organizations allocate at least 12 monthsto get assessment-ready from a standing start. That’s not a sales pitch; it’s a practitioner speaking from experience, and the number is consistent with the field.

Can OSIbeyond perform your official CMMC assessment? No — and you don’t want them to.

OSIbeyond cannot conduct or grant CMMC certification. Under 32 CFR Part 170, a Level 2 certification assessment must be performed by an authorized C3PAO — a Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization accredited through the Cyber AB — and Level 3 assessments are performed by the government’s own DCMA DIBCAC (Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center). OSIbeyond builds and runs environments; a separate, independent organization grades them. That separation is a design feature of the program, not a detail.

The CMMC ecosystem splits the work deliberately, and buyers who blur the roles pay for it twice. Here’s the map:

If OSIbeyond — or any MSP — offers to introduce you to a C3PAO, that’s normal and often helpful. Just ask three things in writing: whether any referral, reseller, or financial relationship exists between them; who owns remediation if the assessor finds gaps; and what happens if the C3PAO disagrees with the readiness assessment. Then verify the C3PAO’s authorization status in the Cyber AB Marketplace yourself. See our authorized C3PAO directory for a starting point.

What does OSIbeyond’s CMMC service actually include?

OSIbeyond publicly sells three CMMC paths: a fully Managed CMMC solution where it owns the compliant environment and operations end to end, a Co-Managed solution where its engineers support your internal compliance team or chosen consultant, and — as of April 29, 2026 — Compliance as a Service (CaaS), a subscription model the company states delivers a secure Microsoft GCC or GCC High environment, managed IT and security operations, control implementation, documentation, and continuous compliance for a monthly fee with no traditional upfront project cost.

The structural choice is straightforward. Managed fits when you want one accountable provider operating IT, security, and compliance as a unit — the model where their own Level 2 certification experience is most directly transferable. Co-managed fits when you have real internal IT/security staff and need CMMC-specific architecture, documentation muscle, and configuration management without surrendering the keys. CaaS is the newest wrapper: same components, subscription pricing. OSIbeyond states that traditional approaches often require $50,000 to $100,000 or more in upfront implementation costs. A subscription doesn’t make that cost disappear; it spreads it. Ask for the 24-month total in writing and compare it against the fixed-price paths.

To their credit, OSIbeyond’s service pages do something most MSP marketing won’t: state out loud what stays on yourplate. Per the company’s own CMMC solution pages, clients remain responsible for human resources, physical security, and paper CUI handling alongside other internal IT responsibilities. That’s an honest preview of a shared responsibility matrix. Whatever path you pick, get these deliverables enumerated in the contract: CUI scoping decisions, asset inventory, System Security Plan (SSP), Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M), shared/customer responsibility matrix, policies and procedures, evidence library, Microsoft tenant architecture diagram, security tooling stack, sustainment cadence, the C3PAO handoff package, and — the one everyone forgets — an exit plan covering who owns your data, documentation, and tenant if you leave.

How much does OSIbeyond cost? The public numbers — and what they leave out.

OSIbeyond is one of the few CMMC providers that publishes prices: fixed-price implementation of $49,999 for its GCC Enclave Deployment & CMMC Compliance Implementation and $59,999 for GCC Full Migration & CMMC Compliance Implementation, per its public pricing page (checked June 9, 2026). Read the asterisks: the company’s own page states those figures exclude C3PAO assessment costs, exclude GCC licensing costs, and that other exclusions apply. The published number is an implementation starting point, not an all-in certification budget.

Publishing fixed prices in a market famous for “it depends” is a genuine point in OSIbeyond’s favor. It anchors your negotiation even if you hire someone else. Now build the real budget around it:

Why scope dominates every line of that table: CMMC Level 2 means implementing all 110 security requirements of NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 and surviving evaluation against 320 assessment objectives. Every user, device, and system inside your CUI boundary multiplies the work. Which is exactly why OSIbeyond prices its two paths around how much of your environment comes into scope.

GCC full migration or GCC enclave? The decision behind OSIbeyond’s two price tags

OSIbeyond’s two fixed-price paths map to the single biggest architecture choice in a Level 2 project: move your entire IT environment into Microsoft’s government cloud (GCC or GCC High — full migration), or build a contained enclave where only CUI work happens (deployment). The honest answer is that headcount-handling-CUI usually decides it.

Who should shortlist OSIbeyond — and who should walk away

OSIbeyond fits a specific buyer: a small or mid-sized defense contractor heading to CMMC Level 2 that wants one accountable provider for IT operations, security, and compliance — particularly organizations ready to standardize on Microsoft GCC or GCC High, and DC-metro firms that value onsite reach. It is the wrong call if you only need the assessment, you’re keeping a non-Microsoft stack, or you want advisory hours without an operational relationship.

If the left column is you, your next step is a scoping conversation — jump to the 10 questions to ask before you sign ↓ and go in armed.

The catch nobody puts in the proposal: your MSP lands inside your assessment scope

Hire OSIbeyond — or any MSP — to help meet CMMC requirements, and that provider becomes part of your assessment, not a bystander to it. Under 32 CFR Part 170, an external service provider (ESP) relationship and the services it delivers must be documented in your System Security Plan and customer responsibility matrix, and services used to meet CMMC requirements are assessed within the scope of your assessment. Your provider choice becomes part of your assessment story. Choose accordingly.

In practice, the assessor will want to see exactly where your responsibilities end and the MSP’s begin: identity management, logging, monitoring, incident response, backup, endpoint configuration, the tenant itself. A fuzzy shared responsibility matrix is one of the most common ways otherwise-prepared contractors stumble — not because controls were missing, but because nobody could prove whose controls they were.

This is also where OSIbeyond’s own certification stops being a trophy and starts being useful. The final rule does notrequire non-cloud ESPs to hold their own CMMC certification — so an MSP that voluntarily completed a Level 2 assessment has already produced the artifacts your assessor will ask about on the provider side of the matrix: documented controls, evidence, an assessed environment. That doesn’t transfer certification to you (nothing does), but it means the provider half of your assessment story has been stress-tested by a real C3PAO. Ask any MSP you’re evaluating — OSIbeyond included — for the ESP service description, the shared responsibility matrix mapped to the 110 requirements, a system boundary diagram, and the evidence handoff process for assessment day. The firms that have been through it send a package. The firms that haven’t send a meeting invite.

What do OSIbeyond’s reviews actually tell you?

Third-party reviews exist, and they’re genuinely positive — but they measure OSIbeyond as a managed IT provider, not as a CMMC outcome machine, because no public platform tracks whether a provider’s clients pass C3PAO assessments. At our June 9, 2026 check, Clutch listed OSIbeyond at a 5.0 rating from 31 client reviews, with a $10,000+ minimum project size, hourly rates of $100–$149, and a stated service mix of 40% IT managed services, 30% cybersecurity, 20% compliance consulting, and 10% IT strategy consulting; Glassdoor showed a 4.4/5 employee rating across 46 reviews. Useful signals. Not proof you’ll certify.

Here’s how to read each source for what it’s worth. Clutch gives you verified-ish client interviews across OSIbeyond’s broader IT work, with praise clustering around responsiveness and reliability. Our evidence rule: we did not treat any Clutch review as CMMC-specific unless the review itself identifies CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, SPRS scoring, or a certification-assessment path. Directional trust signal: yes. CMMC evidence: no. Glassdoormeasures employee experience — relevant only as a stability proxy, since MSP service quality lives and dies on engineer retention. Glassdoor characterizes OSIbeyond’s 4.4 as in line with the Information Technology industry average; it tells you nothing about your assessment. And the recognition badges (Clutch awards, Cloudtango MSP Select listings) are directory marketing — fine, ignorable.

How does OSIbeyond compare with the alternatives?

OSIbeyond’s strongest comp is as a managed-compliance MSP for small and mid-sized DIB contractors on the Microsoft stack — early RPO registration (January 2021), its own announced Level 2 certification (April 2025), published fixed pricing, and a subscription model (April 2026) most peers don’t offer. Whether it’s your answer depends on which category of help your situation actually calls for, so compare categories first, then names.

Compare categories first

Named alternatives — source-checked positioning as of June 9, 2026

As of June 9, 2026, The Defense Compliance Report has no compensation relationship with any provider named in this table. If that changes, this disclosure will be updated the same day.

The 10 questions to ask OSIbeyond before you sign anything

Every claim worth buying is worth verifying, and the good news about the CMMC ecosystem is that most of the verification is free. These ten questions — with where to check each answer — turn a sales call into an evidence review. They work on OSIbeyond. They work on everyone.

1. 1."Show me your current Cyber AB Marketplace listing." Then check it yourself at cyberab.org — search the company name, confirm the listing type, that it’s active, and the legal entity name it’s registered under. OSIbeyond’s is RPO-1237; we last checked it June 9, 2026.
2. 2."Show me your own CMMC Level 2 evidence — the CMMC UID, assessment date, C3PAO, and scope." The CMMC UID is the 10-character identifier reflected in SPRS; certificates aren’t publicly searchable, so the documentation is the proof. Confirm the assessed scope covers the environment that will serve you.
3. 3."Which of the 110 NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 requirements do you inherit, and which stay mine?" Demand the shared responsibility matrix in writing before signature. OSIbeyond’s own pages already state clients keep HR, physical security, and paper CUI handling — a good sign; get the rest enumerated.
4. 4."Is my environment GCC or GCC High, what’s the per-user licensing, and who bills Microsoft?" Licensing is excluded from the published fixed prices — make it visible.
5. 5."What happens to my tenant, data, and documentation if I leave you?" The exit plan is the lock-in test. No written answer, no signature.
6. 6."Who performs my C3PAO assessment — and confirm in writing you have no undisclosed financial relationship with them." Then verify that C3PAO’s authorization status in the Cyber AB Marketplace yourself.
7. 7."What’s my all-in 24-month number?" Implementation or subscription + licensing + tooling + remediation contingency + sustainment + the C3PAO’s separate fee. One page. Signed.
8. 8."Give me two DIB references with scope like mine who completed a C3PAO assessment in the last 12 months." This is the question that separates marketing from track record. Don’t waive it.
9. 9."Which credentialed staff — CCPs or CCAs — will actually touch my engagement?" A credentials mention on a website isn’t an assignment.
10. 10."How do you sequence my readiness against the Phase 2 clock?" The right answer references your contract mix, current C3PAO queue realities, and a dated plan — not vague reassurance.

What working with OSIbeyond actually looks like, start to finish

A realistic engagement with OSIbeyond — or any managed-compliance MSP — runs in a sequence, and skipping the first step is how budgets blow up: scoping comes before architecture, architecture before implementation, implementation before evidence, and only then the independent assessment if your contract requires one. CMMC Level 2 currently maps to NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2, the assessment type (self-assessment vs. C3PAO) is set by the contract, and certification isn’t the finish line — an annual affirmation of continuing compliance is required after it.

1. 1.Confirm what you hold and what your contracts demand. FCI or CUI, target level, and the assessment type named in the solicitation — DFARS 252.204-7025 is the notice provision that identifies the required CMMC level, and it makes current status an award-eligibility issue. Read it before any provider call.
2. 2.Scope it. Map CUI locations, users, systems, vendors, and external service providers. This determines everything downstream, including which of OSIbeyond’s two fixed-price paths even applies.
3. 3.Pick the architecture. GCC vs. GCC High, full migration vs. enclave — the decision table above.
4. 4.Build and remediate. Implementation against the 110 requirements; OSIbeyond’s own CISO put their focused preparation at four to five months on top of an existing NIST SP 800-171 program, and recommends most organizations budget at least 12 months from a standing start.
5. 5.Document and post — on the right path. SSP, POA&M, shared responsibility matrix, evidence library. Then know the reporting mechanics: Level 2 self-assessment results are submitted into SPRS, while Level 2 C3PAO assessment results are submitted by the C3PAO into CMMC eMASS, which transmits them to SPRS — where your contracting officer actually looks.
6. 6.Readiness check, then buffer. OSIbeyond’s own playbook included a 30-day buffer between “ready” and assessment day. Steal that practice regardless of who you hire.
7. 7.Independent assessment, if required. A C3PAO you verify yourself. If you certify with open POA&M items, note the rule’s teeth: a Conditional Level 2 status requires closing those items within 180 days or the status expires.
8. 8.Sustain. Annual affirmation, configuration management, evidence upkeep — the recurring work the managed-compliance category exists to carry, and the part most one-time projects quietly drop.

Does the Phase 2 clock change the math?

Yes — for sequencing, not for standards. CMMC’s contractual rollout runs on a fixed schedule under 32 CFR Part 170 (effective December 16, 2024) and the DFARS acquisition rule (effective November 10, 2025): Phase 1 runs November 10, 2025 through November 9, 2026, and Phase 2 begins November 10, 2026— in Phase 2, DoD intends to require Level 2 (C3PAO) status as a condition of award in applicable solicitations and contracts involving CUI, with discretion to delay that requirement to an option period.

The supply-demand gap is the part that should shape your timeline. Figures presented at the Cyber AB’s February 2026 Town Hall — as reported across the compliance trade press — put completed Level 2 certifications at roughly 1,042 against an estimated 76,598 organizations expected to need one. C3PAO queues are real and moving — ask any assessor for current lead times during scoping, because queue position is now part of timeline risk.

OSIbeyond’s own CISO recommends a 12-month readiness runway. Phase 3 (beginning November 10, 2027) goes further: DoD intends to require Level 2 (C3PAO) in all applicable solicitations and as a condition of exercising option periods on contracts awarded after the rule’s effective date, and to include Level 3 (DIBCAC) in applicable solicitations. None of this is a reason to panic-sign with the first provider who returns your call. It’s a reason to pick a lane this quarter — managed provider, enclave, advisory, or straight to a C3PAO if you’re genuinely ready — and get into a queue while queues can still be gotten into.

How we built this OSIbeyond CMMC review — and what we couldn’t verify

This is a public-source profile, assembled and checked by The Defense Compliance Report Editorial Team on June 9, 2026, with no hands-on engagement and no compensation relationship with OSIbeyond. We checked the Cyber AB Marketplace directly (listing RPO-1237), read OSIbeyond’s service and pricing pages, the April 30, 2025 certification announcement and April 29, 2026 CaaS launch release, dated snapshots of Clutch and Glassdoor, the CMMC Program rule at 32 CFR Part 170, the DFARS clauses at Acquisition.gov, and published interviews with company leadership.

One finding shaped this page more than any other: when we searched “OSIbeyond CMMC review,” nearly every result was OSIbeyond’s own site, OSIbeyond press releases, or trade coverage at an outlet where OSIbeyond’s CEO is a contributing writer. That’s ordinary content marketing — and OSIbeyond’s CMMC educational library is genuinely strong. But it meant no independent evaluation existed for a buyer to check. This page is that evaluation, which is why every claim above is sorted into checked, company-stated, or couldn’t-verify.

What we could not verify: we did not find publicly audited client pass-rate or engagement-count data for OSIbeyond — and we have yet to find any provider in this market that publishes it — nor could we verify the scope details of OSIbeyond’s own certification or real-world engagement totals beyond the published fixed prices. OSIbeyond did not participate in this profile. We welcome corrections from the company or from readers, and we correct errors quickly — if you spot something off, tell us.

The Defense Compliance Report is an independent trade publication on CMMC 2.0 and DIB compliance. This article is not legal, contractual, or compliance advice. See also our editorial standards and corrections policy.

OSIbeyond CMMC review: quick answers

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• RPO vs. C3PAO: Who to Hire First for CMMC
• CMMC Provider Categories: MSP vs. C3PAO vs. Enclave vs. Software
• Authorized C3PAO Directory: Find and Vet an Assessor
• CMMC Readiness Checklist (Control-Mapped, Free)
• SPRS Score Guide: What It Is and How to Post It
• CMMC Provider Directory

By The Defense Compliance Report Editorial Team · Last verified: June 9, 2026· The Defense Compliance Report is an independent trade publication on CMMC 2.0 and DIB compliance. We may receive compensation for qualified introductions, sponsorships, or partner referrals when disclosed. Compensation does not control our regulatory analysis, provider-category recommendations, or Cyber AB status verification.