Organizations must ensure compliance with NIST 800-171 to maintain a contract with a federal agency. But becoming compliant is not enough. Your organization must also be able to properly demonstrate ongoing compliance. Failure to comply with this framework can result in the termination of a contract, receiving a permanent ban on work with federal agencies, and the loss of business partners who will be obligated to terminate their contracts with your organization.
NIST 800-171 requires your organization to be meticulous in identifying and classifying data, managing and storing it, limiting access, monitoring files for changes, and physically protecting access to data, among others.