Scoping is one of the most misunderstood yet essential parts of the CMMC ecosystem. Before organizations implement controls, buy tools, or prepare for assessments, they must first define what is in scope—their data, people, processes, and systems. When done well, scoping reduces costs, limits liability, and streamlines compliance. When done poorly, it increases the risk of assessment failures, whistleblower issues, and expensive rework.

In this episode, Cole talks with cybersecurity leaders Andy Paul and RJ Williams to clarify what scoping really involves, why organizations often get it wrong, and how an enclave-based approach can simplify compliance. They explore the operational, technical, and contractual details many teams overlook, from CUI discovery and cage code challenges to the real cost drivers of CMMC.

Whether you're preparing for your first assessment, refining your compliance strategy, or trying to understand how enclaves fit into your environment, this conversation offers practical guidance you can use right away.

We discuss:

• Why scoping is the most critical step in any CMMC program.
• How to correctly determine where CUI resides — and why most organizations struggle.
• The value of minimizing scope to reduce cost, effort and assessment risk.
• When the enclave model works, why it works and how to implement it effectively.
• How DIBCAC assessors evaluate scope and why their approach differs from C3PAOs
• Why contracts — not IT assets — should drive scoping decisions.
• How people, processes and technology define an accurate compliance boundary.
• CAGE code complications and how enterprises can manage multi-entity compliance.
• How tools like Teramis support technical discovery to uncover hidden CUI and right-size environments.
• The business case for reducing liability, avoiding whistleblower risk and gaining competitive advantage.
• How segmentation, information barriers and GCC High configurations support scalable compliance.
• Why many organizations overspend on licensing and tools due to incorrect scoping.