Why is CMMC so expensive?
November 4, 2026
CMMC gets blamed for a lot of expensive bills, but how much of that bill can actually be attributed to CMMC?
In this episode of Trust Issues, co-hosts Bruno Lecoq and Jeremy Patterson break down the economics of CMMC. They explore why CMMC costs more than SOC 2 or ISO 27001, where the money actually goes, and why contractors need to stop mixing overdue IT investment with the cost of certification itself. One thing becomes clear: CMMC is not the cause of your IT debt; the real question is, what is?
“Why is CMMC so expensive?” is a valid question, but Bruno Lecoq thinks it deserves a more important follow-up: “What were you already supposed to be paying for?”
In this episode of Trust Issues, Bruno and Jeremy Patterson, Co-host and Account Executive at BEMO, unpack why CMMC produces more sticker shock than SOC 2 or ISO 27001. While some of it is genuinely CMMC (third-party assessments, heavier evidence requirements, GRC tooling, and the like), some of it is not.
Bruno and Jeremy get into why CMMC operates on “show me” instead of “trust me,” what 700 pieces of evidence a month says about continuous compliance, why the whole company gets involved, and why simpler infrastructure can make both security and audits easier.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why CMMC creates more work than SOC 2 or ISO 27001
- Which costs genuinely belong to CMMC and which are overdue IT investment
- Why CMMC auditors expect proof, not a confident “yes”
- How CUI and ITAR change staffing, software, and support requirements
- Why the MSSP you already use may not be ready for CMMC
- Why GCC High costs more than commercial Microsoft environments
- What collecting roughly 700 pieces of evidence every month looks like in practice
- Why CMMC belongs to HR, Operations, leadership, and IT
- How simplifying the tech stack can make compliance easier to maintain
- Why part-time IT and a true 110/110 posture do not fit together
Episode chapters:
00:00 Why part-time IT isn’t enough for CMMC
00:56 Why CMMC costs more than SOC 2 or ISO
01:34 What actually counts as a CMMC cost?
02:55 SOC 2, ISO, and CMMC in plain English
04:32 The “high school to master’s degree” comparison
05:14 Why CMMC demands proof
07:07 Why defense data raises the bar
08:43 CUI, ITAR, and US-only support
10:44 Choosing the right MSSP
12:08 GCC vs. GCC High
14:23 Why compliant software costs more
15:53 What a GRC platform actually does
16:01 700 pieces of evidence every month
21:50 CMMC is a company-wide program
22:41 Where you can actually reduce cost
24:21 Cloud vs. on-prem security
25:26 Separating CMMC cost from overdue IT investment
27:02 Final takeaway
Quotes:
Jeremy Patterson:
“SOC 2 seems like it’s the high school diploma, ISO maybe the community college, and then CMMC is like the master’s degree.”
“People have this notion that if it’s under my desk... then I’m safe. Then I can just unplug the power cord, and nobody will get to it.”
Bruno Lecoq:
“CMMC audit is a lot more work because by default the auditor doesn’t trust you. By default, it’s: show it to me.”
“CMMC is not only IT... CMMC is a company project.”
“You cannot do CMMC. You cannot be compliant with part-time IT.”
Bruno Lecoq:
“CMMC audit is a lot more work because by default the auditor doesn’t trust you. By default, it’s: show it to me.”
“CMMC is not only IT... CMMC is a company project.”
“You cannot do CMMC. You cannot be compliant with part-time IT.”
Connect with the team:
👉 BEMO Website: https://www.bemopro.com/
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