An Authority to Operate, or ATO, is a formal declaration by a US Government Agency that authorizes the use of a particular application, platform, or product within the agency’s network.

While the ATO process may vary slightly between agencies, they ultimately require an exhaustive review of the application, and completion of a large set of content that accurately captures and defines the risk that using the application presents to the agency.

Once the ATO submission is made, a Designated Authorizing Official (DAO) with the government agency reviews and either requests clarification on aspects of the application or certifies the application for use.

BTree has ATO experts to guide you through the complex process, resulting in an authorization package ready to submit to the DAO Authorization Agent.

BTree will help determine whether or not you need an ATO based on the data you are working with. We also carefully examine security requirements for your research from the original statement of work on your federally funded agreement/contract.

BTree provides a dedicated project manager for the duration of your project that will assist in creation of the ATO package submission.