AISE · Assess, Identify, Strategize, Execute
Federal Zero Trust is nowevidence-based.
AISE (pronounced EE-Zee, from the French word for easy) gives agencies, DoD components, primes, and regulated enterprises a defensible Zero Trust baseline, roadmap, and continuous progress record aligned to EO 14028, OMB M-22-09, DoD DTM 25-003, the DoD Zero Trust Strategy, and CISA ZTMM.
The System of Record for Zero Trust Investment Governance
Your next audit, proposal, or leadership review will ask for evidence. The question isn't whether you have a Zero Trust program. It is whether you can prove where you stand, what you have completed, and what comes next.
Leadership, auditors, and acquisition teams increasingly expect evidence behind Zero Trust maturity claims. AISE organizes that evidence, identifies capability gaps, and helps teams sequence the work that should come next.
If you can't answer these today, you're exposed
- Show us your Zero Trust maturity against OMB M-22-09 and CISA ZTMM.
- Which capabilities block your FY targets?
- What roadmap justified this investment?
- How are you measuring progress?
- What evidence supports your maturity claims?
In a constrained budget, sequence matters
Zero Trust capabilities are interdependent. AISE identifies foundational gaps before recommending higher-maturity investments, helping teams avoid sequencing advanced capabilities ahead of the controls they depend on.
Stop-gate logic
A "no" on a foundational capability skips the dependent, higher-maturity questions and blocks credit for them, so you don't invest in advanced capabilities before the foundation is in place.
Dependency-aware sequencing
See exactly what has to happen before what, then prioritize investments, avoid premature purchases, justify budgets, and phase implementation.
One framework per assessment
Each assessment uses one maturity framework, DoD Zero Trust or CISA ZTMM v2.0, so scoring, terminology, and comparisons remain internally consistent across cycles.
How AISE works
Zero Trust maturity is an iterative journey. AISE supports every cycle until you reach your target level.
AISE demo · 5 min · Watch on YouTube
Download the AISE overview (PDF, 2 pages)
1. Baseline assessment
Establish current maturity across all pillars, with full scoring, gap identification, and stop-gate analysis.
2. Gap analysis and priorities
Automated gap analysis pinpoints capability deficiencies with weighted priority rankings.
3. Strategic roadmap
A phased implementation roadmap with timed milestones, effort estimates, and resource requirements.
4. Execute and track
Dashboards track milestone completion, maturity gains, and implementation effort through each cycle.
5. Re-assess and advance
Clone prior assessments to measure gains accurately, find the next set of gaps, and launch the next cycle.
What you walk away with
- A documented view of current maturity: by pillar and capability, scored rather than estimated.
- The capabilities and dependencies that affect priority: each capability gap, with what it depends on.
- A roadmap leadership can evaluate and fund: sequenced milestones, maturity targets, and progress tracking across every cycle.
- Relative effort and impact before you commit resources: compared per initiative.
- An executive briefing from the assessment record: a 20-minute deck built from your results.
Purpose-built for federal Zero Trust
- 1,384 adaptive questions across seven pillars, built on the DoD Zero Trust and CISA frameworks.
- An AI question assistant clarifies questions in real time, so your team doesn't need to be framework experts.
- Document ingestion: upload POA&Ms, policies, and status reports, and AISE recommends answers with a confidence score and its reasoning. Your team confirms every answer.
- Deploys into your own tenant on Azure, AWS, or GCP. Paired with a model endpoint inside your boundary, on-premises or in the cloud, your assessment data stays under your control.
- Also available as SaaS, which can be hosted in AWS GovCloud (US) with access restricted to U.S. citizens.
Who AISE is for
- Federal agencies and program offices required to demonstrate Zero Trust maturity under EO 14028, OMB M-22-09, or DoD DTM 25-003
- DoD primes and subcontractors whose proposals require demonstrated Zero Trust maturity evidence
- CISOs and Zero Trust program leads who need a defensible baseline
- Program executives who need to answer "where are we on Zero Trust?"
- Security architects building or validating a Zero Trust roadmap
How to access AISE
Available as annual software subscriptions and services bundles, self-hosted or SaaS. Pricing is scoped to each organization.
Purchasable through:
- SeaPort NxG
- SBA 8(a)
- MDA SHIELD
- Teaming arrangements with primes
The AISE Clarity Guarantee
If the completed baseline does not give your leadership a clearer, evidence-backed view of current maturity and next priorities, Zephon will correct the assessment deliverables within the agreed scope at no additional professional-services charge.
Frequently asked questions
What is the typical timeline?
A baseline assessment generally takes 3–4 weeks when your team can provide a consistent assessment lead and timely subject-matter access. How long it takes to reach a target maturity level depends on the framework, the target, and your implementation pace.
What's required from our internal teams?
A designated assessment lead, typically a CISO, Zero Trust program manager, or senior security architect, plus subject-matter access to answer questions across the relevant pillars. The AI assistant handles real-time question clarification.
What if we need help implementing the roadmap?
Zephon's Zero Trust advisory and implementation services can help you execute the plan.
See AISE on your own Zero Trust questions.
Book 30 minutes for a walkthrough. We will show you the baseline, the gap analysis, and the roadmap AISE produces.