Why does ISO 27001 matter for business?

Data is one of your business’ most vital assets so it’s important to ensure it’s properly protected.

We all need to keep confidential records and sensitive data secure and there are potentially huge penalties for failure to maintain information security standards. But security isn’t just a tick-box compliance exercise: Your business success depends on maintaining control of your business data and knowing where the important information is located – and who has access to it.

This is why, even if you decide not to be ISO 27001 certified yourself, it’s so important to work with IT service partners who have achieved the certification. This accreditation demonstrates that your IT partner has achieved the highest standards in data security. It means that you can have confidence that your business interests and assets will be protected to the highest level and that risks are minimised.

In the IT industry, unlike for example in the financial services industry, there are very few regulations and even fewer universally adopted standards. That’s why ISO 27001 demonstrates a professional standard for IT security that few businesses have made efforts to embrace. The reason why so few IT service companies have gone down the ISO 27001 route is that it is really challenging for a provider to comply consistently with these standards.

According to the British Standards Institute (BSI), organisations that have adopted ISO 27001 experienced reduced business risk, increased business trust and were confident that the business was better protected. The BSI states that adoption of ISO 27001 standards protects your business, your reputation and adds value. It’s also likely to save money due to the minimisation of the likelihood of data breaches.

Think of the consequences of a data breach: You could lose sensitive data which will damage your business and expose your organisation to increased risk of fraud. And if it’s a serious breach of personal data, you could incur a ruinous fine and suffer serious reputational damage.

It takes months of strengthening business processes to pass an ISO 27001 audit.  Certification is a journey that every function within the organisation must participate in to enable the business to achieve the necessary security standards. The auditors will scrutinise every aspect of the business and therefore, every staff member must be committed to the certification goal. Certification is a team effort and the standards permeate through the entire organisation to become embedded in the company culture.

If you are concerned about maintaining professional standards, then it’s important to work with IT partners that have demonstrated their commitment to maintaining their own standards. These standards will consequently be applied to your business so that you will benefit from this level of vigilance.

Orca is currently going through the ISO 27001 certification process as part of our continuous improvement programme. For more information on how our IT solutions could work for your business, contact us.