Federal agencies continue to expand their use of cloud technology to modernize operations, strengthen cybersecurity, and improve mission delivery. But adopting cloud services across government requires more than finding the right technology. Agencies must also navigate rigorous federal cloud security, compliance, authorization, and procurement requirements.
The FedRAMP Buyer’s Guide for Government from Carahsoft examines how the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is evolving to make secure government cloud adoption more efficient while maintaining strong cybersecurity standards.
How FedRAMP Supports Federal Cloud Security
FedRAMP provides a government-wide, standardized approach for assessing, certifying, and continuously monitoring cloud service offerings, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS solutions. Built on the NIST SP 800-53 framework, the program follows a “do once, use many times” model that allows federal agencies to reuse security packages rather than repeating the same baseline assessments.
That reuse has become increasingly important as federal cloud adoption grows. According to the guide, FedRAMP products have been reused more than 11,700 times across government, helping agencies reduce duplicative security reviews and accelerate access to compliant cloud technology.
The guide also highlights an important distinction for government technology and acquisition teams: FedRAMP now certifies cloud offerings, while individual federal agencies authorize their use. A FedRAMP-certified solution can be listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace, but an agency Authorizing Official must still evaluate the solution for its specific environment, accept the residual risk, and issue an Authority to Operate (ATO).
FedRAMP 20x Modernizes Cloud Authorization
One of the biggest changes explored in the guide is FedRAMP 20x, a modernization initiative designed to shift cloud security assessments away from static, document-heavy processes toward automation and continuous validation.
Instead of relying on hundreds of pages of narrative documentation, FedRAMP 20x introduces machine-readable security evidence, Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL), and outcome-based Key Security Indicators (KSIs). This approach allows security evidence to be updated and evaluated more continuously.
The framework also allows cloud service providers to pursue certification and FedRAMP Marketplace listing without first securing an agency sponsor, removing a longstanding barrier to federal cloud adoption.
The guide reports that as of June 2026, 28 cloud service offerings had achieved FedRAMP 20x certification.
Understanding the New FedRAMP Certification Classes
Government IT and acquisition professionals should also understand FedRAMP’s updated terminology. The guide explains that FedRAMP retired the legacy Low, Moderate, and High Marketplace labels in May 2026 and introduced Certification Classes A through D.
The new classes describe the depth and rigor of a FedRAMP assessment rather than automatically determining what data an agency may place in a cloud environment. Agencies remain responsible for evaluating data sensitivity and risk within their individual use cases.
A Growing Ecosystem of FedRAMP Cloud Solutions
The guide provides an extensive look at Carahsoft’s FedRAMP partner ecosystem, featuring cloud and cybersecurity providers such as Adobe, AWS, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Okta, Oracle, Red Hat, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Splunk, Zscaler and many others.
Real-world success stories demonstrate what secure cloud modernization can look like in practice. For example, the guide highlights how the IRS is using Salesforce Government Cloud to replace legacy systems and automate case management. It also examines Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange and a Security Information Systems deployment that consolidated alarm monitoring across more than 60 federal locations.
Making FedRAMP Part of the Government Cloud Strategy
FedRAMP is increasingly more than a compliance requirement. It provides a foundation for agencies seeking to modernize infrastructure, strengthen cloud security, accelerate procurement, and adopt emerging technologies while managing federal cybersecurity risk.
The FedRAMP Buyer’s Guide for Government provides federal IT leaders, cybersecurity professionals, acquisition teams, and program managers with a practical resource for understanding FedRAMP. Access the guide to explore how agencies can securely accelerate cloud adoption while supporting evolving mission requirements.
