Barge Design Solutions

The Department of Defense/War (DOD/DOW) has issued a final rule requiring CMMC compliance in contracts starting Nov. 10, 2025, and Barge Design Solutions needed to certify its secure handling procedures for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) across its operations, a key to compliance. The company’s work involves resource-intensive design software like Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit for government projects requiring a solution that could maintain both security and operational efficiency.

Barge’s challenge was multifaceted: It needed a secure environment capable of handling demanding design applications while also addressing legacy physical CUI that could not be migrated to digital formats. Historical project files and documentation from decades of government work presented unique compliance obstacles that traditional cloud-only solutions couldn’t address.

The company operates from multiple locations, including Nashville headquarters and a Dayton, Ohio, facility, each with different operational requirements and varying amounts of legacy CUI requiring protection.

Barge engaged CyberSheath to develop a comprehensive CMMC compliance strategy. CyberSheath’s approach began with a detailed use case analysis to understand exactly how CUI flowed through Barge’s operations and where it resided across its organization.

The collaborative process included:

• Hybrid solution design: Creating an Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environment in Microsoft’s Government Community Cloud (GCC High) while also developing physical protection strategies for legacy CUI that couldn’t be digitized.
• Resource-optimized virtual environment: Configuring high-performance virtual desktops capable of running demanding design software, ensuring no compromise in design capabilities.
• Scope management and optimization: Identifying opportunities to minimize the compliance scope by securing legacy CUI in controlled physical spaces rather than expanding digital requirements across entire facilities.
• Technical staging and documentation development: Preparing all technical controls, system security plans and compliance documentation while working through CyberSheath’s proven AIM™  (Assess, Implement, Manage) methodology.

CyberSheath delivered a tailored hybrid approach that addressed Barge’s unique operational requirements. The solution centered on an AVD enclave hosted in GCC High,
one of CyberSheath’s go-to offerings that helps many contractors become compliant.

For legacy physical CUI at the Dayton facility, CyberSheath worked with Barge to establish a secure CUI room with controlled access and a locked cage within that space. This approach allowed Barge to maintain necessary historical project files without expanding compliance requirements across its entire building infrastructure.

The virtual environment served as the primary secure workspace, with all new CUI contained within the digital enclave. Physical protections were implemented only where absolutely necessary, keeping the compliance scope minimal and manageable.

CyberSheath’s flexible methodology meant meeting Barge where it was operationally, rather than forcing the company to conform to a predetermined solution framework.
This approach preserved Barge’s existing workflows while ensuring full compliance with CMMC requirements.