An IT industry group warns that small businesses could be left on the ground as the government shifts to cloud computing.

The Software and Information Industry Association says the Obama administration needs to do more to open opportunities for small IT contractors. “Lowering the barrier of entry and bringing more small businesses into the federal market would give the government increased access to innovative technology,” the association said in a report.

In particular, SIIA singled out the FedRamp certification process, which gives vendors one point of contact to get approval of their cybersecurity measures. While GSA touts FedRamp as a “do once, use many times” certification, the industry group said that won’t work.

“A host of recent surveys have shown that in some cases as many as 40-50% of agencies believe they have unique security requirements not met by the FedRAMP process and expect to do additional security assessments,” the report says. “In practice, it is likely that the FedRAMP certification process will be seen as an additional step to the certification process.”

FedRamp began accepting applications June 6 for certification through third-party assessment organizations. (For details, go to www.fedramp.gov.)

SIIA also criticized the way the FedRamp process is being handled. GSA has said it will give priority to companies that are already providing cloud solutions to the government. SIIA said GSA is giving those large vendors a head start and “putting small businesses at a particular disadvantage.”

In addition to its small business recommendations, SIIA proposed four more recommendations:

•Continue to promote the “Cloud First” policy developed in 2010.

•OMB and GSA should work together and with industry to remove barriers to effective planning and procurement.

•Promote changes to federal acquisition process and culture that to ensure they keep pace with technology.

•Develop a comprehensive Federal IT strategy roadmap.

Since the Obama administration announced its 25-point plan for overhauling IT management in 2010, SIIA said the strategies introduced so far—for cloud first, shared services and digital government—are not specific enough to provide operational guidance. It called for a road map to detail how the strategies should be implemented.