Adopting Government Cloud Plus is a multi-month procurement and migration project, not a simple product purchase. The workflow below covers the standard sequence from initial assessment through go-live, with emphasis on the compliance and contracting steps that distinguish Government Cloud Plus from commercial purchases.
- Document the compliance requirements and data classification
Work with the customer's compliance and information assurance team to document the specific compliance requirements (FedRAMP level, DoD IL, ITAR, CUI, state-specific). Classify the data the platform will handle (CUI categories, export-controlled categories, classified-adjacent). Confirm whether Government Cloud Plus is the right tier or whether standard Government Cloud would suffice. This step prevents over-buying and ensures the procurement matches the actual compliance posture.
- Engage Salesforce federal team and complete procurement
Contact the Salesforce federal account team to begin the procurement conversation. The federal team will guide the choice of contract vehicle (GSA Schedule, agency-specific contract, prime contractor agreement), the negotiation of terms specific to the customer's compliance posture (data handling, breach notification, audit access), and the licensing of the right product editions. Procurement typically takes 3 to 6 months for new customers due to contract complexity.
- Provision the org and configure compliance settings
Once procurement is complete, Salesforce provisions the org in the appropriate Government Cloud Plus region. Configure the compliance-specific settings: Shield Platform Encryption for data at rest, Event Monitoring for audit trail, Login IP Ranges for network-based access restrictions, MFA for all users, and any DoD-specific or ITAR-specific configurations the workload requires. Document the configuration in the org's authorization-to-operate (ATO) artifact for the customer's compliance program.
- Roll out and operate under continuous monitoring
Migrate or build the workload on the new Government Cloud Plus org. Implement the customer's continuous monitoring program: regular security control reviews, vulnerability scanning, log analysis, and incident response procedures. Coordinate with Salesforce's compliance team on the ongoing FedRAMP and DoD IL4 evidence. Schedule annual security control assessments per the customer's authorization. The operational posture is more rigorous than commercial cloud but matches the customer's compliance requirements.
- Government Cloud Plus is significantly more expensive than commercial. Confirm the compliance need before assuming the upgrade is required.
- Feature parity lags commercial by one or two releases. Planning for new feature availability requires checking the Government Cloud Plus roadmap specifically.
- Personnel access is restricted to U.S. citizens. Customer service routing through standard global support channels is not permitted.
- Some commercial third-party AppExchange apps are not available on Government Cloud Plus due to their lack of compliance authorization. Vet specific apps before assuming availability.
- Procurement takes longer than commercial. Plan timelines accordingly, especially for migration projects that depend on the new org being provisioned.