Reynolds Construction Achieves Perfect CMMC Level 2 Score Without an IT Background
How a 250-person construction company built its own compliant enclave, saved over $200,000, and passed assessment on the first try.
CMMC Level 2
Applied solution
Kieri Compliance Documentation
Kieri Reference Architecture
Perfect Assessment Score
Saved
Days to Complete Assessment
Attempt with no Issues
How a Construction Company Passed CMMC Without an IT Background
Reynolds Construction faced a situation familiar to many small and mid-sized defense contractors. They had government work worth protecting, limited IT staff, and a compliance requirement that felt overwhelming.
Eric Fields, Systems and Compliance Administrator at Reynolds, was handed the CMMC project with a simple directive: figure it out and make it happen. There was just one problem.
“I’m not an IT person, and I’ve never been an IT person,” Eric explains.
Eric started researching CMMC and quickly realized the scope of what they were up against. His initial attempts to find help weren’t encouraging. The first organization he worked with couldn’t keep pace with his own research. Quotes from other companies to build and manage a compliant environment ran $200,000 to $300,000 over three years. For a company where government work is a fraction of total revenue, that kind of investment was hard to justify.
Reynolds leadership believed they could find a better way.
“We thought we’re small enough that we should be able to do this on our own.”
Challenge
- Reynolds had government work worth protecting but limited IT staff and no dedicated cybersecurity expertise.
- Their first consultant couldn’t keep up. Eric found himself learning faster on his own than the organization he’d hired could guide him.
- Quotes from managed service providers to build and maintain a compliant environment ran $200,000 to $300,000 over three years.
- Government contracts represented only 5-10% of revenue, making a six-figure compliance investment difficult to justify to leadership.
- Reynolds wanted to own and manage their compliance program themselves, not depend on a third-party provider long-term.
“The reference architecture really spelled it out almost step by step. You don’t have to be a technical person for it.”
Eric Fields,
Systems and Compliance Administrator
Solution
- Eric’s research led him to Kieri Solutions. He started with the Kieri Compliance Documentation (KCD), which gave Reynolds the policy foundation they needed. “The compliance documentation was a huge thing for us. We kind of started there.”
- The real turning point came when Kieri released the Kieri Reference Architecture (KRA) – step-by-step instructions for building a compliant Microsoft 365 GCC High enclave that a non-IT person could actually follow.
- Reynolds purchased 40 hours of consulting support from Kieri to supplement the documentation. Eric worked through the implementation himself, leaning on his IT manager for technical questions and Kieri’s team when he needed clarification.
- The KRA was designed to be managed with just part-time IT support. No expensive managed services provider required.
- When Kieri later added the Azure Virtual Desktop option, Reynolds upgraded from dedicated devices to virtual access, eliminating the need to carry separate hardware.
“Don’t hesitate. The written instructions, the documents, the reference architecture is easy to follow. It’s easy to understand. You don’t have to be a technical person. If you’ve got somebody that has the time, they can take that documentation and that reference architecture and build that enclave for themselves and save themselves a lot of money and time.”
Eric Fields,
Systems and Compliance Administrator
The Results
Reynolds Construction scheduled their CMMC Level 2 assessment for five days. They finished in three and a half.
Perfect 110 score. First attempt. No issues.
The C3PAO assessment team’s reaction said it all. They told Reynolds, “You spoiled us.” Everything was self-explanatory, evidence was easy to find, and the assessment flew through without a single problem.
Today, Reynolds manages their CMMC compliance entirely in-house. Eric serves as the global administrator for the enclave, with the IT manager providing oversight. The ongoing work takes a small fraction of his time.
“Now that we have it implemented and we pass the assessment, it’s a very small portion of my job. I do a lot of other things now for the company.”
The enclave stays out of the way of actual work. Reynolds set it up as a separate environment for their government contracts, and the roughly 10 people who use it don’t experience friction.
“From an operational standpoint, the people that are using it don’t really see any difference.”
When Kieri added the Azure Virtual Desktop option to the reference architecture, Reynolds upgraded from dedicated devices to virtual access. Now their team connects to the enclave through their regular computers.
“It makes it real easy. It’s just simple.”
Life After Certification
Reynolds proved that CMMC compliance doesn’t have to be a burden after you pass. Their enclave runs as a separate environment for government contract work. Eric manages it with part-time oversight from the IT manager. The rest of his time goes back to other responsibilities.
Eric talks to other defense contractors who are feeling panicked about CMMC deadlines. His message is consistent.
“Just that it’s not so hard.”
He credits his non-technical background with keeping things simple. Instead of overcomplicating the implementation, he followed the instructions and asked questions when he got stuck.
“Where I had questions, I had people to go ask questions of, whether it was internal or you guys, and it worked out great.”
His final advice for contractors still shopping around?
“Don’t waste your time looking around because this is the best that I found, and it works great.”
Ready to Build Your Own CMMC-Compliant Enclave?
Reynolds Construction proved that a mid-sized company without deep IT resources can achieve CMMC Level 2 certification on their own terms. With the Kieri Reference Architecture and Kieri Compliance Documentation, they saved over $200,000, earned a perfect assessment score, and now manage compliance in-house with minimal ongoing effort.
Your company can do the same.
Schedule a consultation with Kieri Solutions to discuss your compliance journey.
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Reynolds Construction Achieves Perfect CMMC Level 2 Score Without an IT Background
How a 250-person construction company built their own compliant enclave, saved over $200,000, and passed assessment on the first try
$200,000
Saved
How a 10-Person Manufacturing Company Prepared for CMMC Level 2 After Nearly a Decade of Compliance Work
A 39-year-old defense subcontractor with government expertise finds the documentation and consulting guidance needed to finally feel confident about assessment.
93%
SIEM Cost Reduction
Exigo Corporation Achieves CMMC Level 2 Certification with a Cloud-First Approach
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We deliver modern CMMC solutions designed to simplify compliance, eliminate uncertainty, and protect your contract pipeline — without forcing one rigid path.
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See how defense contractors achieve CMMC certification with Kieri.
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