Build, Buy, or Rent? The FedRAMP or DoD Platform Dilemma in 2025

Why Platform-as-a-Service is the Prerequisite for Mission Outcomes in the Federal Markets

In the federal and DoD cloud space, one decision continues to haunt organizations we talk to:
Do we build our FedRAMP platform, buy one, or rent one as a managed service?

At InfusionPoints, we’ve lived this question with many of our customer—from Fortune 50s to mission-driven startups to government agencies trying to modernize. And after more than a decade of doing this work, one truth stands tall:

Building your own FedRAMP-compliant platform is a high-risk, low-reward endeavor unless you have elite talent, unlimited budget, and time to burn.

Unfortunately, most don’t. And that’s why Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is the right path forward—especially for small and mid-sized companies targeting the federal market. Even larger organizations can benefit, as platform providers can help minimize disruptions to commercial cloud velocity.

The Harsh Reality of DIY Platforms

Here’s the playbook we’ve seen (and sadly, been called in to rescue too many times):
A cloud service provider (CSP) starts building their own FedRAMP PaaS.

After Years later:

• $10s of Millions+ in sunk costs
• 0 workloads in production
• A bloated internal platform team larger than the app dev team
• Mounting pressure from users and stakeholders waiting for outcomes
  

"We are still building our foundation instead of delivering capability."

Meanwhile, you’re also buried in FedRAMP Rev 5, ATO delays, NIST mappings, and the sheer overhead of proving trust every month.

DIY becomes death by complexity.

Where is the value?
The federal and DoD customer doesn’t care how your infrastructure is built—they care that your application works and that it delivers mission value. The CIO and CISO truly need it secure and be able to obtain and keep an Authorization to Operate (ATO).

Every hour, every FTE, every dollar spent building a platform is time you're not spending on what really matters to your end customer:

• Delivering outcomes
• Reducing compliance risk
• Improving security posture
• Speeding time to authorization

Let’s Talk Numbers

Here’s is an example of blended customers over the years:

DIY Model: 

• Platform build cost: $6M/year (tools + 6 FTEs)
• Platform ops: $2.6M/year
• Time to first workload: 18+ months
• Outcome: Frustrated stakeholders, incomplete ATO, internal fatigue
• We do provide advisory and engineering support to DIY customers to help ease some of these challenges

Buy Model:

• Platform build cost: $1-2.5M
• Platform ops: $1-2.6M/year
• Time to first workload: 6–12 months
• Outcome: Operational, reduced audit scope, improved customer focus
• We do offer our XccelerATOr cloud security framework to accelerate the process to build a platform for our customers that want to own the full stack.

Rent (PaaS) Model:

• Subscription-based PaaS: $500K-1M/year
• No platform ops team required
• Time to first workload: < 3 months
• Outcome: Reduced cost, faster ATO, mission delivery accelerated
• Cost savings: ~75%
• We do offer our XBU40 PaaS for customers who want the complete white glove treatment.

Don’t build by yourself when you can buy. Don’t buy when you can rent.

Let’s be blunt:

• DIY is a trap unless you're staffed like AWS and funded like the DoD.
• Buying is better, but you still have to manage and maintain the platform.
• Renting is best when available—fully managed, compliant, scalable, and cost-effective.

Our XBU40 platform, integrated with Command Center and AuditShield, is built for just this. It’s not a theoretical PaaS—it’s operational, opinionated, and optimized for FedRAMP High, DoD IL5, and FedRAMP 20x real-time compliance.

Lock-In vs. Lock-Out

Worried about vendor lock-in? That’s valid. But here’s the real question:

Are you locked in—or are you locked out?

• Locked out of mission outcomes
• Locked out of rapid delivery
• Locked out of DevOps maturity
• Locked out of compliance

Every solution has lock-in—DIY, open source, GOTS. But only some offer measurable return.
The riskiest lock-in is the one you build yourself and can’t escape from.

Skills & Knowledge Required to Build a FedRAMP Platform

Successfully building and operating a FedRAMP High or DoD IL5-compliant platform requires:

• Deep expertise in NIST 800-53 Rev 5, FedRAMP PMO processes, and DoD CC SRG
• Engineering knowledge of Zero Trust, Immutable Infrastructure, Microsegmentation, and CIS/DISA STIG enforcement
• Advanced AWS capabilities including GovCloud, SSM, KMS, CloudTrail, SecurityHub, and GuardDuty
• Automation experience with Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, evidence pipelines, and SBOM management
• Continuous monitoring proficiency, including ConMon, KSI mapping, and real-time telemetry
• Audit readiness support for 3PAO collaboration, artifact validation, and audit shield automation
• Team alignment across DevSecOps, Compliance, Security Engineering, and Program Management

And most importantly:

Been there and done this multiple times, across multiple industries, with different agencies—as InfusionPoints has.

We don’t just know what good looks like—we’ve Built it | Managed it | Defended it. We've led teams through the chaos of first-time authorizations, recovered failed DIY attempts, and helped organizations scale securely without burning out their staff or budget.

PaaS is the Prerequisite for Operating Securely in a Federal or DoD Cloud

The Federal DevSecOps journey is stuck not because of a lack of vision—but because too many organizations try to build platforms instead of delivering value. Here's why PaaS is essential:

• Faster ATO with automated evidence and control validation
• Lower total cost of ownership (no platform team bloat, no endless tool wrangling)
• Shared services efficiency—don’t rebuild what’s already done
• Continuous compliance with live mappings to KSIs, 800-53, and DoD CC SRG
• Mission focus from day one with hardened, battle-tested infrastructure

Your Platform Strategy: Build Right. Or Don’t Build at All.

At InfusionPoints, we believe in outcomes, not over engineering. That’s why we help organizations move quickly with a secure, compliant, managed platform foundation.

With over 12 years in FedRAMP and DoD cloud, we’ve seen the cost of getting this wrong—and we’ve built a better way.

So here’s our advice:

• Don’t build your own FedRAMP platform
• Don’t waste two years and $10M trying to get something for nothing 
• Rent or buy an opinionated, auditable, ready-to-scale platform that meets federal demands out of the gate

Because at the end of the day, your mission isn’t to build platforms.

Your mission is to deliver outcomes—fast, securely, and at scale.

Need a platform that can get you there?

Let’s talk. 

We’ll help you get FedRAMP or DoD ready faster—and stay there.