Interview With Robert Joseph – Founder & Vice President of Step Ahead Solutions by Shauli Zacks

SafetyDetectives recently spoke with Robert Joseph the Founder and Vice President of Step Ahead Solutions. Robert’s journey from commercial IT success to pioneering work in CMMC compliance highlights both his resilience and his vision. In this interview, he explains how Step Ahead helps small and midsize businesses navigate cybersecurity challenges, why the Acutis Cloud Enclave has become a game-changer, and what the future holds for the rapidly growing CMMC market.

Robert, can you share the story of how you founded Step Ahead Solutions and what key experiences led you to focus on CMMC, cloud enclaves, and cybersecurity for SMBs?

The Power of Grit: From Commercial Success to CMMC Pioneer

I learned early on that success wasn’t about brilliance; it was about sheer grit. That immigrant’s drive to defy expectations pushed me to leave a successful career in commercial IT for what I believed was a vast opportunity in the government sector. Instead, I found myself a fish out of water, navigating a complex world of federal contracts with no connections and no idea of the “language.”

I got burned. I fell for service providers who promised huge returns but delivered nothing but crippling costs. I wasted countless hours on free advice that led nowhere, and I became utterly jaded. I felt like I had traded a secure career for a dead end.

The Silver Lining: A New Path Emerges

At my lowest point, a new path emerged. My firm was invited to participate in the early stages of a nascent initiative—what would eventually become the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This was my silver lining, the moment I realized everything I had been through had prepared me for this exact opportunity.

I worked relentlessly, earning my certifications, becoming a Registered Practitioner and an Approved Training Provider. I had an “aha” moment: CMMC wasn’t just a compliance requirement; it was a greenfield opportunity. This was the massive initiative I was meant to tackle.

The Innovation Born from Frustration

This realization led to my biggest innovation: the Acutis Cloud Enclave. I poured my frustration with the system—the complexity, the cost, the time waste—into creating a solution that was simple, affordable, and accessible.

The Acutis Cloud Enclave is an easy-to-use, subscription-based model that allows small and medium-sized businesses to instantly inherit up to 90% of the required CMMC security controls. It turns a massive, expensive project into a predictable, manageable service.

But I didn’t stop there. Knowing that empowering people is as crucial as providing technology, I also built a one-of-a-kind Learning Management System (LMS). With over 300 comprehensive videos, this platform delivers an unparalleled CMMC training experience, giving businesses the on-demand content and confidence they need to navigate this complex world on their own terms.

For readers not yet familiar: What exactly does Step Ahead Solutions do, and how do you help SMBs turn compliance and cybersecurity “problems” into business opportunities?

The Growth Crisis: Why CMMC is a Billion-Dollar Opportunity

The greatest challenge facing Small and Midsize Businesses (SMBs) is not operational—it’s growth. Sustained expansion is constantly choked by limited resources, constrained funding, and restricted access to the right technologies, all of which critically impact reputation.

Massive enterprises, flush with capital, state-of-the-art tools, and dedicated security teams, are still being breached daily. Now, imagine the vulnerability of the average SMB, operating under severe resource constraints.

CMMC: A Mandate That Creates a Market

After more than seven years in development, the Department of Defense (DoD) has enshrined the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) into law. This isn’t just another compliance measure; it represents a billion-dollar greenfield market for every business in the defense supply chain.

CMMC is unlike superficial ISO certifications. It isn’t a check-the-box exercise. It demands the institutionalization of 110 security controls covering people, processes, and technology—all verified by independent third-party assessors. This is a complete overhaul, not a simple audit.

Our Solution: Innovation Born from Foresight

Step Ahead recognized this looming crisis when CMMC was first conceived seven years ago. For over three years, we worked relentlessly to simplify and embed these 110 controls into a game-changing solution.

The result is the Acutis Cloud Enclave (ACE) and the Step Ahead LMS. Both are delivered via a simple subscription model, offering instant access to CMMC-authorized resources and solving 90% of the compliance burden immediately.

We’ve removed the complexity, the enormous upfront cost, and the technological barrier. For the SMB driven to compete for federal contracts, nothing is better than guaranteed, on-demand access to compliance.

CMMC is complex and often frontier territory for many small businesses. What are the biggest pain points you see clients hit when trying to meet CMMC requirements, and how does Step Ahead address those gaps in practice?

CMMC: Beyond Compliance—The Challenge of True Institutionalization

The CMMC Framework isn’t entirely new; it’s the evolution of standards that have existed since the early 2000s, primarily within NIST SP 800-171 and 172. These were prescriptive and mandated, yet breaches persisted, revealing a fatal flaw. That failure is precisely why CMMC was introduced.

The challenge isn’t the framework itself—it’s implementation and institutionalization.

The core difficulty lies in integrating every CMMC control directly into daily technology stacks. It’s no longer enough to say you follow a policy; you must provide irrefutable proof of configurations and measurable effects, documented through continuous reporting.

This demands a culture shift. Every individual must understand the policies and actively use them daily, turning compliance into organizational accountability.

Capturing the subtleties of CMMC requires more than IT skills. It demands:

• Deep industry experience
• Strong technology expertise
• Cybersecurity and compliance audit knowledge
• Understanding of FARS/DFARS as applied to acquisitions
• CUI categorization
• Subject Matter Expertise in CMMC Level 2 (110 controls)

CMMC is far more complex and demanding than advertised. It’s not a document exercise—it’s the security integration the defense industrial base desperately needs.

You recently developed the Acutis Cloud Enclave (ACE). Could you walk us through how that works, what its core advantages are, and how you ensure it remains secure, scalable, and usable?

Instant Compliance: Introducing the Acutis Cloud Enclave (ACE)

The complexities of CMMC Level 2 compliance—the endless integration, high costs, and months of preparation—are now obsolete. We built ACE to give businesses an immediate, fully secure CMMC environment delivered as a service.

ACE is a secure cloud enclave built on a hybrid AWS–Google Cloud architecture, ensuring reliability and scale.

A Single, Air-Tight Perimeter of Defense

• AI-Driven Defense: Next-gen AI firewall forms a strong perimeter.
• Real-time Synchronization: Firewall and endpoint security constantly synchronize.
• Zero Trust Architecture: Includes Privileged Access Management (PAM) and advanced email security.
• Integrated Infrastructure: Active Directory, separate subnets, Google Workspace, Datto backups, and continuous awareness training.

CMMC Compliance, Delivered

ACE maps directly to all 110 CMMC practice controls, and provides:

• Full documentation (SSP, policies, evidence worksheets, matrices)
• 24/7 SOC and SOAR services

ACE lets organizations instantly inherit 80–90% of CMMC controls.

The Financial and Time Advantage

With ACE, you reduce cost and time, ensuring readiness for C3PAO audits. Subscriptions include on-demand advisory support.

Given how fast threats and regulations are evolving, what steps does Step Ahead take to stay ahead—both technically and in terms of policy/legal compliance? How do you help clients keep up-to-date?

Total Command and Control: Your CMMC Advantage

CMMC is constantly evolving, and outdated info means failed audits. At Step Ahead, we don’t just react—we lead.

With ACE and the LMS, we assume responsibility for keeping clients compliant. As an Approved Training Provider (ATP) and Certified Assessor (CCA), staying ahead of changes is our mandate.

Real-Time Compliance, Real-Time Insight

• Constantly updated training content
• Proactive monitoring for real-time compliance posture
• Dashboards and reports showing exactly where you stand

We remove guesswork and give businesses current training and accurate data to maintain compliance with confidence.

Looking forward, what is your vision for the next 3–5 years at Step Ahead? Are there new markets, technologies, or service models you’re especially excited to explore?

Capturing the CMMC Gold Rush: Our Singular Focus on Growth

CMMC is not just a regulation—it’s a billion-dollar market. Step Ahead’s strategy is dynamic, hyper-focused growth in this single segment.

We’re not chasing adjacent markets or distractions. Instead, we’re dedicating all resources to dominating the CMMC space, becoming the indispensable leader and an attractive acquisition target for future major players.

We will deepen technological superiority through:

• Rapid integration of best-in-class security tools
• Cutting-edge AI/ML for automating compliance tasks, enforcing controls, and predictive risk analysis

Our future is built on mastering this one market. Singular focus is our blueprint for success.