“Should we use an enclave?” is a common CMMC question we hear. An enclave is a contained environment that limits where Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is stored, processed, and accessed. The decision on whether to go the enclave route should be determined by how your specific business handles CUI.
We often see organizations try to jump straight to technology questions: Which platform should they use? Can a cloud environment meet the requirements? How quickly can they contain CUI? etc.
But before answering those questions, you first need to lay some groundwork.
Start by mapping your organization’s contracts, data flows, users, systems, and physical requirements that shape your CUI boundary. That groundwork shows what must be protected, how people need to access CUI in their daily work, and whether an enclave fits your business and environment.
Without it, you risk locking your organization into a technology-first design that may not support daily operations or reflect the scope you actually need to manage.
For a deeper look at CMMC scope and the strategy behind choosing an enclave, check out our webinar replay featuring experts from Bluewave, Thrive, and C3.
The work your organization performs determines the CUI boundary, along with the systems, users, and locations that support it. Technical teams may understand the production systems, while accounting, sales, executives, or other departments still need access to CUI documents. Those users may not log in every day, but their access still affects scope and the controls the organization needs to operate.
Physical requirements matter, too. An engineering or manufacturing organization may need to print CUI blueprints as part of its work. That requirement can bring printers, locations, and network infrastructure into scope. A contained environment can look like the simplest option, but it may not fit how your organization actually operates.
Process owners need a place in the CUI scope and architecture discussion. They provide valuable insights into how CUI moves through your daily work, where exceptions occur, and who needs access, giving you a boundary you can defend and an architecture you can support.
A smaller scope can reduce cost and complexity, but only when the revised process still works.
Consider a business that stores contract attachments containing CUI in its CRM. Moving those attachments to SharePoint may keep the CRM outside the CUI boundary, but the new process still needs to let employees find, review, and use the files as part of their jobs.
A narrower technical boundary has limited value if the change creates delays, access problems, or makes it harder to meet customer commitments.
Some organizations use access levels as a rough planning signal. If fewer than roughly 20% of the organization needs access to CUI, an enclave may be worth evaluating. As access approaches 25% to 30%, the licensing and support burden of running separate environments can change the calculation. These figures show when your organization should examine your operating model more closely.
Platform requirements can also change cost calculations.
Services with FedRAMP authorization requirements or specialized security features may carry higher licensing and support costs. For these instances, we recommend that you evaluate whether the proposed environment supports your business at a cost and operating burden your organization can sustain.
Once your organization understands where CUI lives, how it moves through your business, and who needs access. You can evaluate architecture options against the way your business operates.
This sequence gives you time to understand what you must protect, how your people need to access CUI in their daily work, and which options you can sustain. With that foundation, leaders can choose an architecture that supports how your business actually operates and stands up to scrutiny.
We help you clarify your CUI boundary before you commit to an architecture.
If you are evaluating an enclave or a broader CMMC environment, our security advisors can help you weigh the options against how your business operates.
A: A CMMC enclave is a contained environment designed to limit where CUI is stored, processed, or accessed. The right design depends on your organization’s business processes and access needs.
A: Start with contracts and trace CUI through your business processes, applications, users, devices, locations, and physical requirements. Include indirect access and departments outside your core technical environment.
A: No. An enclave may fit organizations with limited CUI access, while broader access or operational requirements may support an enterprise-wide approach. The decision should follow scope analysis.
A: It may. Moving CUI attachments from one application to another can affect your boundary, but the revised process must still support your organization’s work and customer commitments.
A: Not necessarily. Scope reduction can help control cost, but the result depends on your organization’s systems, users, physical requirements, platform choices, and ongoing support needs.
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