FedRAMP Authorizes First Cloud Provider for Voice and Collaboration

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 18, 2016) - collab9 today announced it is the first and only FedRAMP(SM) Authorized Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider in the world. With the cloud first mandate trickling through the U.S. government, Federal, State, and Local agencies now have a flexible, reliable, and secure unified communications (UC) cloud service catering to their requirements. collab9 was sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States to achieve a FedRAMP compliant ATO (Agency Authority to Operate) and verified by the FedRAMP PMO (Project Management Office).

FedRAMP
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, is a government-wide program that supports the U.S. government's mandate that all U.S. federal information systems comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). Providing a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services, executive departments and agencies using FedRAMP Authorized cloud systems, such as collab9, can reap significant financial and time savings by implementing new systems quickly.

"As agencies are increasingly using more cloud services, specialized services like UCaaS solutions are gaining greater entry into the Federal marketplace. FedRAMP is cloud agnostic so the authorization process works for any delivery model or service type. The Federal government's increasing adoption of all types of cloud services will result in many more specialized services coming through FedRAMP, like UCaaS solutions," said Ashley Mahan, FedRAMP Agency Evangelist.

Agency Benefits
U.S. government, Federal, State, and Local agencies will not only benefit from increased productivity, newer technology, cost-savings, and flexibility that cloud technology brings, but also address key business needs through collab9's secure unified communications service.

Financial Savings

• Substantial cost savings over traditional build and operate solutions.
• Reduced capital expenditures for critical phone infrastructure and its maintenance/upgrades.
• Reduced staffing costs for specialized administrators to run on-premises systems.
• Reduced cost of compliance through FedRAMP mandated continuous monitoring.

Technology Modernization

• Rapid deployment with continual upgrading of the solution and infrastructure.
• Migration away from obsolete or aging communications systems.
• Delivery of feature-rich, cloud-based voice services managed outside the organization.

Accordingly, collab9's data center infrastructure was designed to meet the NIST 800-53 standards for Federal state and local government security requirements. In addition to its government-specific accreditations, collab9's solution is enterprise-class, with its infrastructure meeting the security, capacity, and performance requirements of large-scale public sector and commercial organizations.

Services from collab9
collab9 offers the only FedRAMP Authorized UCaaS solution for hosted voice -- the second most common application for businesses, after email. Its secure hosted collaboration solution offers features including:

• unified messaging integrating voicemail and email,
• video calls,
• mobility, IM, and presence (Jabber),
• customer care applications (Contact Center),
• integration with Microsoft O365, Skype for Business, and Gmail, and
• E911 functionality.

The aforementioned are some of the most sought after features government IT executives look for in a cloud solution, but have been unable to utilize until now. Additionally, collab9's feature rich solution incorporates a variety of technology and services from Cisco, EMC, Equinix, Level 3, Microsoft, and VMware.

"We're elated to be the first and only UCaaS provider to earn the FedRAMP Authorized designation, with the help of the FCC as our sponsor. We can now help federal and government agencies accelerate their cloud adoption, increase their confidence in cloud security, and ensure the application of a consistent set of security standards to their cloud environments," said Kevin Schatzle, CEO, collab9. "There is also a carryover benefit into state and local government, and other industries facing security compliance regulation, such as Law Enforcement, Healthcare, Financial Services, Education, among others. FedRAMP can be used as a baseline for security assessment and risk management, since it is the most stringent and can map to other security frameworks."

Available Now
collab9's UCaaS solution is offered by over forty federal contractors, value added resellers (VARs), and telecommunications service providers, and is available through collab9's federal contract vehicles. For more information about collab9's FedRAMP Authorized UCaaS solution for hosted voice, visit: www.collab9.com/FedRAMP.

About collab9:
A FedRAMP Authorized UCaaS provider, collab9 provides the only Cisco-powered cloud service for voice and collaboration that meets federal, state, and local government requirements for security. Its secure hosted unified communication (UC) solution offers unified messaging integrating voicemail and email, video calls, mobility, IM, presence, Contact Center, E911, and integration with Microsoft and Google Cloud collaboration and email applications into a per user, per month subscription-based model. collab9's solution helps manage complexities in the disparate, BYOD, and mobile environments, allowing real-time collaboration to help improve productivity, performance, and customer service. For more information, visit: www.collab9.com; follow @collab9 on Twitter.

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