Architecting FedRAMP Compliance: The Boundary-First Approach on AWS GovCloud

FedRAMP Moderate authorization is essential for any AI SaaS vendor seeking federal procurement, but achieving it requires rethinking architecture fundamentals before writing code. This case study reveals why the common approach of retrofitting commercial cloud environments to comply with federal requirements consistently fails, and demonstrates how a boundary-first design philosophy can transform a failing compliance audit into a clean authorization path. The methodology—prioritizing architectural separation over infrastructure code optimization—offers a practical template for enterprises navigating the growing intersection of AI services and federal security requirements.