CMMC on a Small Team: How DIB Contractors Can Stop Spinning and Start Making Progress
- Summit Cyber
- Jan 2
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 7
Most small DIB contractors do not need more CMMC theory, they need help deciding what to do next when they cannot do everything at once. That is exactly where Summit Cyber adds the most value.
What we see over and over:
The pattern is clear: small and mid-sized defense contractors often have bits and pieces in place; some policies, some tools, some training, but no clear order of operations. Everything feels urgent, so nothing truly finishes.
As a Registered Practitioner, the job is not to hand over another massive checklist. The job is to translate CMMC and NIST 800-171 into a prioritized, realistic sequence of moves that fits the size of the team and the maturity of the environment.
Prioritizing controls:
When working with clients, Summit Cyber typically focuses on three things:
Scope first, then controls Clarify where CUI actually lives and which systems and users really matter. Once the scope is tight, it becomes much easier to see which controls deserve attention first.
Lead with high-impact basics and steer the team toward a small set of foundational improvements; stronger access control, better protection of CUI, clear handling rules, and reliable backups before worrying about lower-impact edge cases.
Turn progress into a roadmap, capture what is already working, define what must come next, and organize it into a phased plan that leadership can understand and fund.
Why this matters for small DIBs
For small and mid-sized contractors, prioritization is not a luxury, it is the only way to reach CMMC Level 2 without burning out the team or stalling in “permanent remediation mode.” Summit Cyber eliminates the guess work and replaces it with confident, defensible tradeoffs that move you closer to compliance with every step.
Summit Cyber's mission is to help small DIB contractors cut through noise, focus on the next right set of controls, and build toward CMMC and NIST 800-171 compliance that actually fits their reality.
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