Miles Jamison 
- Summit 7’s IKE: Enclave is designed for small contractors preparing for CMMC Level 2 assessments and NIST SP 800-171 revisions
- Each customer receives a fully isolated Azure Government and Microsoft GCC High tenant
- Clients that outgrow the enclave can move to a more customized managed enclave through Summit 7
Summit 7 has opened its Integrated Knowledge Environment: Enclave, or IKE: Enclave, for limited beta testing.
The Huntsville, Alabama-based company said Tuesday the compliant cloud enclave is built to help small defense contractors prepare for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 assessments or third-party evaluations and revisions to National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171.
What Does IKE: Enclave Offer Small Defense Contractors?
Designed for companies with no more than 25 employees, IKE: Enclave provides an isolated tenant in Microsoft Azure Government and Microsoft Government Community Cloud High. Customers retain control of their tenants and administrative access, using their own domain rather than a shared community enclave domain.
The package includes Microsoft 365 Business Premium licensing alongside managed IT, cybersecurity and governance, risk and compliance services. Summit 7 estimates the service could save customers up to $150,000 in the first year compared with a traditional cloud enclave.
Summit 7 CEO Scott Edwards, a 2025 Wash100 Award winner, emphasized the importance of small businesses to the defense sector, saying they need cost-effective, compliant cloud environments that can scale with their operations. He noted that IKE: Enclave offers a dedicated, customer-owned cloud environment with full isolation and a path for future growth.
Edwards was a panelist at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Army Summit.
How Can Customers Scale Their Cloud Environments?
Companies that outgrow IKE: Enclave can move to a customized managed enclave through Summit 7. They can expand their IT environments at their own pace while retaining ownership of their tenants.
Summit 7 builds and manages the enclave with its IKE software stack, which includes IKE: Control, Command and Config. The stack handles management, automation and configuration in Summit 7-managed environments. The broader IKE offering has been deployed to more than 200 clients, while IKE: Enclave is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2027.
