Co-written by Kris Brinker, Government Contractor Marketing SME (Ocean 5 Strategies), Katie Helwig, OASIS+ Strategist (Mild Red LLC), input from Cate Pearson (ISI) and Daniel Sowders, Ph.D (Alpha Omega)
Security as a Strategic Growth Lever in OASIS+
This article builds on the foundation established in The GovCon Decathlon: 10 Disciplines for OASIS+ Success (co-authored by Kris Brinker, Ocean 5 Strategies, and Katie Helwig, Mild Red LLC). That piece introduced the core disciplines required for sustainable growth in the federal market. Here, we take the next step—connecting those disciplines to best practices for Security in the context of GSA’s OASIS+, a Best-in-Class (BIC) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) that has quickly become a centerpiece of federal acquisition.
For OASIS+ contract holders, delivering on scope, schedule, and budget is no longer enough. Agencies now expect disciplined, demonstrable security practices—not as a checkbox, but as a signal of operational integrity. Security is now a marketing differentiator, a brand trust signal, and a performance driver that can directly influence win rates.
The Overlooked Truth: Marketing and Security Are Connected
In today’s government contracting landscape, security posture isn’t just an IT issue—it’s a brand issue.
Agencies and teaming partners alike evaluate contractors based on risk, reliability, and reputation. Your compliance track record, your ability to protect sensitive data, and your demonstrated readiness under frameworks like CMMC all contribute to your brand narrative.
Strong security discipline builds credibility across:
- Proposals: Clear, compliant security documentation reduces evaluator risk and increases trust.
- BD and Capture: Security certifications (like CMMC or NIST SP 800-171 compliance) serve as early-stage qualification tools.
- Digital Presence: Websites and case studies that showcase security readiness help position your firm as “easy to trust” and “ready to team.”
💪 The Marketing Connection:
In OASIS+, disciplined security is an invisible marketing asset. It tells your audience—agencies, primes, and partners—that your team is organized, compliant, and dependable. This credibility can shorten sales cycles, improve teaming opportunities, and elevate your BD narrative from compliance to confidence.
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Why Security Discipline Matters for OASIS+
The OASIS+ opportunity set is heavily defense-focused. Historically, four of the top five OASIS/HCaTS customers are DoD components (Air Force, Army, DoD Other, DHS, Navy), representing over $148 billion in obligations (GSA Data to Decisions Dashboard). These customers demand compliance with NIST 800-171, CMMC, and other security mandates.
💡 OASIS+ Pro Tip:
Emphasize your security discipline as a competitive differentiator in proposals and BD narratives. Agencies increasingly evaluate contractors not just on technical capability but on risk mitigation and operational reliability.
Your ability to demonstrate security compliance—clearly, confidently, and proactively—is part of your brand promise.
SME Highlight: Cate Pearson
Below are highlights from Cate Pearson’s Article: Security Discipline Protects Your CPARs: And Your Next Award | LinkedIn
Security lapses most often drag down Regulatory Compliance and can spill into Management and Schedule. If you want an “Exceptional” rating, treat security as a nonnegotiable condition—and prove it with artifacts.
What Changed in NIST SP 800‑171 Rev. 3 and Why it Matters for CPARs
Rev. 3 (May 2024) reorganizes requirements and adds new families—Planning (PL), System and Services Acquisition (SA), and Supply Chain Risk Management (SR)—and introduces organization‑defined parameters (ODPs). Translation: expect more precise questions and less tolerance for vague SSPs. The DoD has issued ODP guidance to standardize how you set those parameters. Build your SSP/Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) against Rev. 3 now.
Security discipline is how you avoid negative events that get written into CPARs. Anchor your program to FAR 52.204-21, DFARS 252.204-7012/7019/7020, the CMMC Final Rule (252.204-7021/7025), FAR 52.204-25/27, and SAM timing. Then demonstrate it with current SPRS entries, NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3-aligned documentation, tested incident response, and clean supply chain and flow-down records. Use the ISI FSO Checklist and CMMC Checklist to keep the team on the rails, and to make sure the next evaluation reads the way you want it to.
Evidence That Protects Your CPAR Score
To demonstrate operational resilience and protect your CPAR ratings, maintain these artifacts:
- SPRS entries: Current NIST 800-171 assessment, CMMC status, and annual affirmation evidence.
- SSP and POA&M: Mapped to NIST 800-171 Rev. 3, including PL, SA, and SR families.
- Incident-response drill results: Document 72-hour reporting and 90-day data preservation.
- Supply chain compliance logs: FAR 52.204-25/-27 training completion and audit trails.
- Subcontractor flow-down evidence: Show clause enforcement and monitoring.
- SAM.gov “Active” screenshot: Maintain renewal cadence documentation.
💪 The Marketing Connection:
Use these proof points in your BD content. Show that your compliance isn’t performative—it’s verified. When these controls are referenced in proposals, they communicate reliability, maturity, and trustworthiness—key decision factors in source selection.
Making Security a Daily Discipline
Security compliance should live inside your operations and culture, not just your documentation.
Focus areas include:
- Training and Refreshers: Prioritize CUI handling and supply chain bans; tailor to role.
- Metrics: Track training completion, IR tabletop exercises, POA&M closure rates, subcontractor conformance.
- Classified Programs: Reference NISPOM (32 CFR Part 117) where applicable.
- Evidence Binder: Maintain current artifacts, updated annually.
CPARS Is Here to Stay
While CPARS isn’t going anywhere, Congress is exploring a “negative event” scoring system under the FY26 NDAA. Contractors will need to prove the absence of negative events—late DFARS reporting, breaches, or expired registrations.
Your marketing narrative should highlight clean compliance records and a proactive operational playbook.
💡 OASIS+ Pro Tip
Frame your CPAR strategy around preventing negative events, not just responding to them. This proactive posture reinforces your brand story: “We are dependable, prepared, and low risk.”
SME Highlight: Daniel Sowders, Ph.D (Alpha Omega)
Highlights from GovCon Firms Face New Imperative: Embed Security in Staff and Proposals to Keep Pace with War Department’s CSRMC Push (Alpha Omega, 2025). CSRMC and Proposals | LinkedIn
In the new reality defined by CSRMC, the question is no longer, “Do you have a security section in your proposal?” but rather, “How will your people, tools, and culture deliver real-time cyber resilience in the field?”
The Department of War’s Cybersecurity Risk Management Construct (CSRMC) shifts evaluation from static compliance to real-time, continuously monitored cybersecurity. Contractors must embed security into:
- Culture
- Staffing
- Tools
- Proposals
Keys to Winning Under CSRMC
- Capture Early: Make security a win theme during requirements development.
- Compliance Mapping: Trace obligations across proposal sections.
- Technical Narrative: Show security as a living system (dashboards, automation, DevSecOps).
- Staffing: Include training records and rotation schedules.
- Operations: Demonstrate incident-response playbooks and continuous monitoring
💪 The Marketing Connection:
👉 Winning under CSRMC requires showing how your people, tools, and culture deliver live cyber resilience.
Promote CSRMC readiness in proposals, BD materials, and digital channels. It signals a forward-thinking organization that’s ready for the future of defense acquisition—and differentiates your firm from those still treating security as a checklist.
Use Case: Cloud7Works
Cloud7Works exemplifies how disciplined security and past performance combine to position a contractor for OASIS+ growth. With a foundation in federal IT modernization, cloud transformation, cybersecurity, and enterprise architecture, Cloud7Works demonstrates capability across OASIS+ domains.
Selective Service System – RCV Modernization
- Scope: 24-month modernization of a legacy .NET monolithic application into a Java/JEE microservices architecture with React front end.
- Security: Enforced DevSecOps, automated monitoring, and NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 compliance; achieved Authority to Operate (ATO).
- Outcomes: Reduced technical debt, improved release velocity, and enhanced security posture.
- Relevance to OASIS+: Direct proof of Cloud7Works’ ability to deliver modernization within secure, compliant environments.
Path to DoD Readiness
- Pursuing facility clearance (FCL) and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) — prerequisites for DoD and classified task orders.
- On track to complete CMMI certification by FY26.
- Establishing mentor-protégé relationships to accelerate compliance frameworks and cleared workforce development.
Strategic Benefits
- Compete for DoD task orders requiring CMMC or classified work.
- Expand teaming opportunities with defense integrators and primes.
- Demonstrate proactive compliance discipline for OASIS+ task orders.
“At Cloud7Works, we view security as more than compliance—it’s a growth enabler. Our work with agencies like the Selective Service System, HHS, and USGS shows that disciplined modernization paired with rigorous security practices delivers measurable outcomes. As we expand our OASIS+ footprint, we’re investing in the clearances, certifications, and talent needed to support the defense community with the same precision and trust.”
— Madhu Vattipulusu, CEO, Cloud7Works
💪 The Marketing Connection
Cloud7Works’ story illustrates how disciplined security translates into tangible business growth. By integrating compliance artifacts into BD messaging, the firm demonstrates trust, maturity, and reliability—core attributes that resonate with OASIS+ evaluators.
Conclusion: Security as a Growth Engine for OASIS+
In the evolving OASIS+ landscape, security is not just compliance—it’s a competitive strategy.
Contractors that embed disciplined security into their culture, proposals, and operations signal reliability and readiness to federal buyers.
💡 Marketing Takeaway
Security discipline strengthens your brand reputation, proposal credibility, and partner confidence. Demonstrating a living, measurable security program—complete with metrics, artifacts, and culture—positions your firm as a trusted, low-risk choice.
Disciplined security is no longer a checkbox—it’s your pathway to opportunity in OASIS+ and beyond.
Read All GovCon Decathlon Series Articles:
👉 OVERVIEW: The GovCon Decathlon: 10 Disciplines for OASIS+ Success
1. Stand Out from the Crowd – Find Your Niche
2. Go-to-Market Strategy for Government Contractors: How to Define, Connect, and Win
4. Operational Excellence Meets Marketing: The Hidden OASIS+ Differentiator
5. OASIS+ Growth Engine: Recruiting, Retention, and the Government Contractor Marketing Connection
6. OASIS+ Success Strategies: Compliance, Government Contractor Marketing, and Growth
7. Security as a Growth Engine: Building Brand Trust and Compliance in OASIS+
8. Build Brand Trust—Zero Trust, a New OASIS+ Success Discipline
9. Financial Readiness: The Competitive Edge in OASIS+ Contracting
Ready to stand out in the OASIS+ ecosystem? Clarity isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Make it easy for your customers to find you, understand you, and choose you.
Ocean 5 Strategies helps government contractors refine their niche, craft powerful messaging, and implement brand strategies that win contracts and attract top talent. If you’re ready to move from “good” to “great” in the federal market, Reach Out to Ocean 5.
Mild Red LLC helps government contractors turn complex federal procurement opportunities into competitive advantage. We combine data-driven market intelligence with strategic communications to position clients for growth in programs like OASIS+, Zero Trust, and AI initiatives. Our expertise translates policy and market shifts into actionable strategies that win. Reach out to Mild Red.
