Closing the Print Gap: How FedRAMP® High Authorization Solves Federal Cloud Printing

Federal agencies have spent billions modernizing their cloud infrastructure. Most of them stalled at the last mile. Not because of the budget. Not because of security strategy. Because of print. 

Here's what most people miss: 

Print isn't the barrier to digital transformation. It's the entry point.

On average, knowledge workers spend 38% of their week on document-related tasks (paper and digital).¹ In federal environments, where paper-based processes are embedded in compliance, procurement, and records management, that number is likely higher.

Every printed document represents a moment where physical and digital intersect. 

Most organizations see that intersection as a problem to solve. The smarter play? Make it intelligent. When you automate that moment (securing it, streamlining it, and extracting insights from it), you create a pathway to broader digital transformation that actually sticks.

Cloud transformation gets you into the modern infrastructure stack. That's the table stakes. The agencies that stop there still have a print problem and that print problem is a Zero Trust problem, a compliance problem, and a security problem all at once. 

Digital transformation requires intelligent automation of both physical and digital output. Now that Vasion has become one of the first cloud-native print automation solutions to receive FedRAMP High™ Authorization to Operate, federal agencies have a secure on-ramp. Not just to cloud print infrastructure, but to systematic automation that changes how work flows.

But getting there requires confronting something most modernization plans ignore entirely.

Legacy print servers and disconnected output management platforms sitting outside your Zero Trust Architecture are not a legacy problem. They are an active security gap. And they are sitting right in the middle of your cloud investment. 

That push for modernization is pressing due to three converging forces:

Cloud desktops that break traditional printing

Whether you’re adopting Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365, organizations are moving to cloud desktops, fast. You can't deploy AVD at scale and leave print behind. That's not a finished migration. That's a gap. 

AI mandates forcing everything to the cloud

AI executive orders require agencies to use cloud infrastructure for AI workloads. You can't run large language models on-premises for IDP and Agent document work. Cloud is the foundation, AI is the accelerator, and Intelligent Print Automation ties them together.

The need for end-user and critical print to unify

Many agencies still run a split setup: one system for day-to-day, end-user printing, and another for system-generated output like ERP reports, EHR documents, and other batch jobs. Two separate print systems mean two separate security postures. That contradiction will surface in your next audit. We’ll dig into consolidation strategies in part two of this series. 

This isn’t theoretical. We’ve worked with DOD organizations that have hit this wall when deploying Azure Virtual Desktop. Hundreds of thousands of users transitioned to cloud desktops. Everything worked except one thing: printing.

Millions invested in AVD. Months of deployment. And then someone tries to print, and the entire migration stalls. Without a FedRAMP High authorized print solution, these organizations faced an impossible choice: Abandon the AVD project after investing millions OR maintain insecure on-premises print servers that create a permanent gap in Zero Trust architecture. 

With Vasion, these organizations were instead able to adopt a FedRAMP High ATO cloud print solution, enabling them to eliminate legacy print infrastructure entirely and close the last gap in cloud modernization without compromising security. 

Fewer than 100 cloud service providers have achieved FedRAMP High Authorization. The Vasion Intelligent Print Automation solution is one of the first cloud print solutions to become authorized.

In 2023, we responded to a federal RFP that listed FedRAMP High Authorization as a selection criterion. We had never seen that in a federal RFP before and sensed immediately that was the direction the entire government was heading. 

FedRAMP High Authorization requires cloud service providers to adopt 421 advanced security controls and undergo a rigorous third-party assessment. Those controls must be designed into every layer, not bolted on after the fact, and definitely not built into a system made for a client-server environment and later ported to the cloud. 

In practice this looks like: 

Cloud-Native architecture: Built for the cloud from day one, not ported from a client-server environment. That architectural difference is why we achieved FedRAMP High when others couldn't. 

Zero Trust security: Built in, not bolted on. No one sees information beyond their clearance level and your auditors are able to verify. 

Automate print and digital outputs: AI that intercepts a print job and routes it intelligently, archives it, redacts sensitive data, or triggers a downstream workflow. All without the user doing anything differently. 

One unified system for end-user and critical print: One system for both print types. One audit trail. One security posture. 

A proven track record: Not a pilot. Not a proof of concept. Production environments at scale, serving federal organizations including the U.S. Army. 

125 federal organizations already trust Vasion with their print infrastructure. Most of them are running our virtual appliance solution today, which means they're still managing updates, scaling hardware, and scheduling maintenance themselves. FedRAMP High Authorization changes that. 

Now that Vasion is running in a FedRAMP High government cloud environment, agencies can migrate to a full cloud solution, eliminating on-premises print infrastructure. You don't have to think about disaster recovery. You don't have to think about backups. You don't have to think about auto-scaling. You can just sign up and start using it. Agencies that halted their cloud modernization progress due to print can now finish the job.

If you are just beginning your cloud journey, Intelligent Print Automation is the starting point. Print cloud migration delivers immediate infrastructure wins while building the foundation for what comes next. Organizations eliminate print servers, reduce helpdesk tickets, and prove out cloud security posture on a system they understand before tackling more complex migrations. 

FedRAMP High isn’t a federal standard anymore. It’s becoming the security floor for any organization handling sensitive data in healthcare systems under HIPAA, financial institutions under SOX and FINRA, defense contractors matching government standards. Vasion built these 421 controls into the core of our product, which means every customer benefits, not just federal agencies.

As government modernization continues, standards will tighten further and mandates will come. That means we’re not stopping at FedRAMP High Authorization. Vasion is already pursuing Department of Defense Impact Level 4 Authorization for Controlled Unclassified Information to stay ahead of the needs of our federal government customers. We’re not just meeting today’s requirements, but anticipating tomorrow’s.

Every day federal agencies delay their print modernization, they're extending the life of a security vulnerability that their cloud investment was supposed to eliminate. FedRAMP High Authorization closes that gap. The agencies that figure this out first won’t just have solved a print problem. They’ll have found the entry point to everything that comes next. The question is whether you close it now or wait until the next audit forces the conversation.  

Find Vasion Automate Fed in the FedRAMP Marketplace.

¹IDC PlanScape: Print Modernization to Enable an Effective Hybrid Workforce, #US51982024, June 2024