CMMC Level 2 for Central Florida Defense Contractors: Managed Enclave or GCC High?
Updated: Sep 7
Orlando is the simulation and training capital of the Department of Defense, and the Space Coast is full of small firms holding Controlled Unclassified Information. If you carry DFARS 252.204-7012 in a contract, you need a NIST SP 800-171 System Security Plan, a score in SPRS, and a plan to reach CMMC Level 2. The Phase 2 third-party assessment requirement was paused in July 2026, but the self-assessment obligation and prime-contractor flow-downs did not go anywhere.
The two paths that work for small contractors
Almost every small contractor we talk to ends up choosing between a managed enclave and a sovereign cloud build.
A managed CUI enclave: a vendor-hosted, FedRAMP Moderate Equivalent virtual desktop environment that your CUI users log into. Live in about two weeks, priced per user per month, documentation included. Best for two to eight users without ITAR constraints.
A custom enclave on Microsoft 365 GCC High and Azure Government: your own tenant, deployed as infrastructure-as-code, with Azure Virtual Desktop, an inspected firewall, customer-managed encryption keys and Microsoft Sentinel. About 18 weeks including Microsoft eligibility validation. Best when contracts carry ITAR or US-person cloud terms, when the CUI population will grow, or when you want to own the platform.
What the numbers look like at three users
Managed enclave: roughly $5,000 in vendor setup plus $450 per user per month, with implementation and documentation services on top
GCC High and Azure Government: roughly $2,660 per month in Microsoft costs plus a one-time build and documentation engagement
Monthly costs cross over at about seven to eight users, after which the custom build is cheaper to run
What no platform does for you
Twenty-two of the 110 practices are organisational: training records, personnel screening, physical security at your own office, media handling and the risk assessment. Whichever platform you choose, those are yours, and an assessor will ask for the records. A good provider gives you the templates and tracks completion.
Why work with a cleared local team
Protronix Tech has delivered a CMMC Level 2 System Security Plan to an Orlando defense contractor, runs Microsoft Government cloud environments, and every member of our team holds a TS/SCI clearance. If you are unsure which path fits your contracts, a scoping conversation costs nothing and usually settles it in an hour.
Related from Protronix Tech: CMMC compliance services in Florida and managed IT services.
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