FedRAMP • GovRAMP • CMMC • DoD • AI • Privacy

The Only IA / 3PAO that's

Advisory-Only. Engineer-First. CLI-Comfortable. Actually Technical. DevSecOps-Native. Customer-Obsessed. Automation-First. Built for 20x. Absurdly Technical.

bladestack.io is a FedRAMP-recognized advisory-only 3PAO and Marketplace-listed advisor.
We provide advisory services, not independent assessments. Our architects and engineers embed with your team to make FedRAMP Certification feel like engineering, not paperwork. Agency authorization remains a separate decision.
bladestack.io — advisory shell
Advisory-only 3PAO
bladestack
~/fedramp
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Why independent roles matter

Independent advice.
Independent assessment.

Advisory and independent assessment serve different purposes. The rules protect impartiality; our advisory-only model makes the separation clear.

Rulebook 01 · A2LA: ISO/IEC 17020

Impartiality is required

Accredited assessment bodies must meet applicable ISO/IEC 17020 impartiality requirements and FedRAMP restrictions on assessing work they helped develop. A corporate structure alone does not establish independence.

Rulebook 01 · A2LA: R311 §5.2.4

The two-year lookback

A2LA R311 restricts assessment of systems consulted on within the preceding two years. Assessor-owned tools that directly support a provider can count as consulting; affiliated-company tools require specific impartiality review and approvals.

Rulebook 02 · FedRAMP: CR26 (2026)

Separation under CR26

FedRAMP prohibits assessing the same cloud service offering within two years after advisory or consulting services, subject to any expressly published scoped exception. The service performed determines the role.

Compare two illustrative service models. Ask who advises, who assesses, how impartiality is documented, and whether prior services affect assessor eligibility.

ILLUSTRATIVE GROUP STRUCTURE
Your companyCloud Service Provider
Assessment practiceAssessment
Advisory practiceAdvisory
assessment engagement
advisory engagement
IMPARTIALITY MUST BE DEMONSTRATED
KEPT APART BYApplicable impartiality requirements · R311 §5.2.4 · CR26 separation rules
THE RESPONSIBILITIES

Where a group offers both services, confirm applicable impartiality safeguards, prior consulting relationships, and assessor eligibility. A shared brand or separate legal entity does not answer those questions by itself.

The fallback pitch

When the proposal changes,
ask who does the work.

An advisory offer can follow an unsuccessful assessment proposal. Use this illustrative conversation to ask about engineering capability, service scope, and the effect on future assessor eligibility.

illustrative vendor selection callline 0 / 5
What it means

Press play. This fictional example highlights questions to ask when an assessment proposal becomes an advisory proposal.

THE QUESTION · who will perform the advisory work, what can they implement, and how does it affect future assessment eligibility?
EXCLUSIVELY ADVISORY · bladestack.io offers engineering-led advisory services. We do not bid to independently assess the systems we help build.
THE TELL

Evaluate the team, the implementation scope, and the independence arrangements. Advisory is our focus from the first conversation.

The bladestack.io Difference

Why we're fundamentally different

Three commitments that define how we work: exclusive advisory focus, engineering depth, and security outcomes.

Advisory-Only Independent Assessor/3PAO

A FedRAMP-recognized advisory-only 3PAO and Marketplace-listed advisor. We focus exclusively on advisory work and do not independently assess the systems we help build. Your success is our focus.

Engineer-First DNA

Not auditors who learned cloud; engineers who learned compliance. We don't hire technical writers or desk jockeys. Our cyber-samurais are architects, SREs, and engineers equally comfortable in your CI/CD pipeline and the boardroom.

No "Check-the-Box"

Compliance without security is a liability. We solve hard engineering problems to build a security posture that is a genuine asset, not a line item.

The depth gauge, resurveyed for FedRAMP 20x / CR26

The rules are structured.
The work is engineering.

FedRAMP’s Consolidated Rules for 2026 (CR26) publish structured definitions, requirements, and Key Security Indicators. We connect that rulebook to your architecture, implementation, and evidence. Our work supports FedRAMP 20x certification and Rev5 modernization, including Certification Package Overviews, Security Decision Records, and the artifacts required by your certification profile and transition schedule. Automation makes evidence easier to maintain; engineering judgment makes it useful. Probe the stack for the work at each layer.

At this depth, under CR26

Rules & artifacts at this layer
Documentation alone
bladestack.io
THE QUESTION

Ask what happens below L4. Who reviews the architecture, opens the pull request, investigates a failed check, and explains the evidence? Under both Rev5 and 20x, documentation needs to reflect the implemented service. We bring the engineering depth to connect those layers and help your team maintain a defensible certification package.

Start Here

Gap Analysis/Discovery

Before you spend a dollar on remediation, know exactly where you stand. We identify what is blocking your path to FedRAMP Certification and build a technical roadmap tailored to your architecture.

Best Results

Engineers who get your architecture

We embed with your engineering team. Our architects speak your stack, understand your CI/CD pipeline, and guide implementation so controls actually make sense for how you build.

Your Path to FedRAMP Certification

Our Battle-Tested Methodology

From gap assessment through FedRAMP Certification, we handle the technical heavy lifting and support your agency customers with their separate authorization decisions.

Gap / Discovery

We ruthlessly focus on the critical controls and showstoppers that determine your Go/No-Go decision. No theater. Just a technical roadmap.

STEP 1

Advisory & Build

Our team works alongside yours, guiding implementation, reviewing architecture, and keeping you on track. We develop the required certification documentation and evidence with your team, and solve the hard engineering problems.

STEP 2

Assessment Support

We sit on your side of the table through independent assessment and FedRAMP review. We organize evidence, explain the architecture, and support interviews and follow-up findings. We also support your agency customers with their separate authorization decisions.

STEP 3
Managed Services

bladeRAMP:
Stay Certified.

Ongoing Certification, security operations, and vulnerability management, because certification requires maintained evidence and continued oversight.

  • HANZO (SecOps)
  • GENJI (ConMon)
Engagement Models

Choose your blade.

Flexible engagement models to suit your mission. From strategic advisory to fully managed platforms.

FedRAMP

Full-stack advisory for FedRAMP Certification and CR26 modernization. We guide implementation, prepare your certification package, and support independent assessment and agency authorization decisions.

Federal

FedRAMP 20x

Engineering for the automation-driven certification type available today. We build evidence pipelines, map implementation to Key Security Indicators, and prepare machine-readable certification data and FedRAMP-Compatible Trust Centers.

20x

DoD IL 4/5/6

Elevated baselines for mission-critical workloads. We navigate the additional DoD overlays, DISA STIG requirements, and classified environment considerations that separate FedRAMP from true defense-ready authorization.

DoD

GovRAMP

GovRAMP readiness and authorization support for state and local markets. We engineer the controls and evidence your service needs, map opportunities to reuse FedRAMP work, and confirm the applicable recognition requirements.

State

CMMC

Protect FCI and CUI with implementation that works. We help operationalize the requirements for your applicable CMMC level and prepare evidence for the required self-assessment, C3PAO assessment, or government assessment.

CMMC

FISMA / NIST RMF

NIST 800-53 implementation for federal information systems. We guide you through categorization, control selection, and continuous monitoring with documentation built for agency ATO packages.

RMF

IRAP

Prepare for independent IRAP assessment against the Australian Government Information Security Manual. We help engineer controls and evidence for your target classification, including PROTECTED, to support customer risk and authorization decisions.

Australian

TX-RAMP

Purpose-built for Texas DIR requirements. We prepare technical documentation and controls for TX-RAMP Level 1 or Level 2 certification and evaluate applicable recognition of existing FedRAMP or GovRAMP status.

Texas

ISO/IEC 42001

Build an AI management system aligned with ISO/IEC 42001. We help implement governance, risk management, and evidence to support responsible AI development and use, and prepare for independent certification.

AI
Ready to Strike?

Compliance is a task. Technical excellence is an art.

Join the ranks of the absurdly technical. Let's build your path to FedRAMP Certification and support agency adoption. Tell us about your architecture, your timeline, and your frustrations. We'll give you a practical plan.

Contact Us
⚔️
The Engineer Approach
Technical excellence mindset
"Your Terraform module needs a lifecycle block, here's why."
"AWS Config can contribute evidence for account-management checks. Let me show you the implementation and the remaining requirements."
"Here's the exact implementation."
✓
Architects solutions alongside your team
✓
Lives in the terminal
✓
Your engineers trust our guidance
Illustrative Evidence
📋
account-management-evidence.md
Illustrative • Traceable • Mapped
$ aws iam get-account-password-policy
✓ MinimumPasswordLength: 14
✓ RequireNumbers: true
✓ RequireSymbols: true
✓
Engineers who live in the CLI
✓
Evidence checked against actual requirements
✓
"Here's exactly how to implement it"
Documentation-Only Example
📄
SSP_Template_v3_FINAL.docx
Last modified by: unknown

"The organization shall implement account management procedures in accordance with organizational policy..."

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Generic RMF boilerplate
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No implementation evidence
✗
"That doesn't meet the requirement"
Our Clients

Trusted by Leading Companies

Just some of the companies which came for the expertise. They stayed for the engineering.