federal information processing standard (FIPS)
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) are standards written by the National Computer Systems Laboratory (NCSL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) and declared to FIPS publication status by NIST.
Ininformation processing, FIPS are mandatory for U.S. federal agencies. They are mandatory for all U.S. federal and state government agencies because FIPS provides conformance and requirements for products and systems for use in U.S. federal agencies.
FIPS status is one of the decisive factors for the commercial success of products, as the U.S. government market represents a huge potential.