Have Questions? (678) 257-2242
What Is the ISO 27001 Benefit to Business? Understanding Security Compliance

What Is the ISO 27001 Benefit to Business? Understanding Security Compliance

ISO/IEC 27001

Businesses considering implementing this standard have to answer the question of what the ISO 27001 benefit to business is. The British Assessment Bureau informs us that ISO 27001 helps companies achieve an information security management system (ISMS) that allows the company to minimize or remove the chance of a data breach.

Data security isn’t a new concern for companies. The BBC mentions that cybersecurity is of the utmost importance to any business in the twenty-first century. However, while we are aware of how important data security is, how does this tie into the ISO 27001 benefit to business?

Data Integrity and Restoration

Data corruption can be a plague that can cause an entire company’s databases to buckle and collapse. Ensuring that individual records maintain their integrity is crucial to ensuring that the company can meet its mandate to clients and suppliers alike.

With integrated databases, minor corruption could cost a company quite a lot. There’s no way to isolate and repair the corrupted data. By implementing data security systems under the ISO 27001 standard, a business sets up a framework. This framework deals with data integrity and can help with compromised datasets.
Data organization, access control, and a specific backup protocol ensure that datasets remain viable and avoid corruption. Comparing the latest backup with the current version can help a company restore the damaged data without too much hassle.

Privacy of User Data

Another crucial ISO 27001 benefit to the business is increased privacy for the company’s data. An ISMS helps businesses avoid problems that arise if they fail to secure data appropriately. Access control, group management policies, and destruction of data no longer in use are crucial parts of an ISMS. They ensure that user information doesn’t leave the company’s servers or fall into the wrong hands.

ISO 27001 regulations keep businesses secure in knowing that the data they have on their systems are protected. It also helps to avoid messy legal battles associated with data leaks.

Intellectual Property Protection

Businesses all have their own intellectual property generated within the company. Protecting a business’s intellectual property (IP) ensures that it maintains its competitive edge. Risk management techniques can help spot issues with how the company currently deals with its IPs.

Once more, access controls per ISO 27001 are crucial in ensuring that the company keeps ahold of its intellectual property rights. Secure systems stop external access to the company’s IP records. This practice helps to create an impenetrable digital barrier to anyone who would seek to appropriate the company’s IPs.

Peace of Mind to Customers

Digital security is now a hot topic for many consumers. Data breaches have become commonplace, and most users have had account information from one or more large companies compromised in the past. The incidence of these occurrences makes them less likely to trust businesses with their data.

An ISO 27001 benefit to business that is often overlooked is increased confidence in the company’s data management. This certification allows clients to be aware of how the business manages data. Customers understand the steps that the firm undertakes to ensure that all data collected by the company is stored securely. They can also rest assured that the data is destroyed when no longer in use. These steps can go a long way towards convincing a client that they can trust their user data with the business.

ISO 27001 Benefit to Business – The Never-Ending Arms Race

Business security is always about staying one step ahead of malicious actors. By implementing the guidelines set forward under ISO 27001, a company can apply industry best practices that may help them avoid problems with their data security. If you’re looking at implementing a new ISMS, we’ve got you covered. Maybe you need to audit the ISMS the business already has with the aim of certification? Contact Sync Resource today. We’d be glad to help you make your business data management a more secure process.

Book A Call With An Expert Now
What is ISO Compliance and How Does This Save Money?

What is ISO Compliance and How Does This Save Money?

General

What is ISO compliance? An ISO-compliant business conforms to the rules, regulations, and requirements set forth by the International Organization for Standards (ISO). The ISO sets forth a series of standards that apply to the reliability, safety, environmental friendliness, and product quality of a firm. A company that is ISO compliant can apply to become certified by a third-party organization. If you’re interested in getting professional guidance on ISO certification, contact us today.

Who Is the ISO?

The International Organization for Standards includes more than 164 sovereign states. The organization regularly revamps standards processes, and the most recent changes occurred in 2015. The updates require the consultation of each of the members. The updated standards only come into effect when a majority of members agree to the changes.

The standards outlined in the ISO compliance documents focus on ensuring that enterprises have a quality management system instituted within their business. The quality management system for a company consists of processes, policies, and documentation that help the firm better serve consumers.

What is ISO Compliance for?

At the heart, the ISO’s regulations are about ensuring that a company conforms to internationally accepted standards. These standards exist across a wide range of industries.

At present, ISO compliance is particularly applicable in a handful of industries, including:

  • Construction
  • Healthcare
  • Engineering
  • Technology
  • Manufacturing

Businesses don’t need to have a minimum size to qualify for certification. Even small companies can conform to ISO standards and qualify for certification.

When Can a Company Seek ISO Compliance?

A business can assign a compliance officer at any point in time. Ideally, the compliance officer will guide their internal processes so that they will conform to the requirements set forward in the ISO regulations.

What is ISO Compliance Certification?

What is ISO compliance and what is certification: The difference between compliance and certification exists with how they interact with each other. A business that is compliant with the requirements of the ISO can go on to become certified. The same process by which a firm starts the process of certification can help the company become compliant. However, compliance without certification doesn’t benefit a business. If you would like to turn your compliance into accreditation, we can help with that.

How Does a Business Become Compliant?

ISO Compliant businesses should follow the same processes by which a company gains certification. ISO certification aims to have a well-documented quality management system in place. A company can achieve this in several ways. However, while a business might follow guidelines as to how to implement their management system, each one is unique to a particular firm, industry, or product. A company seeking to attain compliance may do so by following a few noteworthy steps, namely:

  • Prepare for Compliance:
    Preparation comes with the consideration of whether the business will apply for certification or not. Certification carries with it the burden of regular audits and eventual re-certification. It also offers significant benefits over compliance. If your company is interested in certification, we can help.
  • Outlining the Quality Management System:
    This step enables the business to have a general guideline of its quality management process. Within this step, the company needs to document every procedure that it intends to put in place to make for more straightforward implementation at the next step.
  • Making the Management System a Reality:
    At this step, the business seeks to bring its quality management system into its business procedures. Employees introduce the outlined elements into their daily processes.
  • Internal Auditing:
    Ideally, if a business intends to undergo certification, then they would have personnel assigned as their ISO compliance officer. This officer has the task of ensuring the business’s activities conform to the ISO standards through internal audits.Companies that intend to garner certification eventually can rely on their compliance officer for internal audits. However, external audits need to occur. This requirement falls to a third-party ISO registrar, chosen by the company.
Book A Call With An Expert Now
What is ISO Certification?

What is ISO Certification?

General

What is ISO Certification? The International Standards Organization (ISO) has outlined a series of requirements for standardization and quality assurance. The ISO is an internationally recognized body that is responsible for developing standards of quality assurance. The ISO itself doesn’t grant certification. Instead, the certification comes from a third-party organization that is responsible for ensuring that companies who want to be certified adhere to the ISO’s requirements. Certification is usually a requirement for bidding on individual contracts.

What is ISO Certification for?

Businesses that want to increase their marketability should think about certification. The International Standards Organization is recognized worldwide as an organization that focuses on maintaining quality. As a result, certification makes a business more likely to be chosen as a contract awardee.

Where Can a Business Get Certified?

Several third-party organizations exist that allow for certification. The process for accreditation differs for each organization. The cost for smaller businesses will be less than for larger firms. At its core, the ISO certification process deals with ensuring that a company documents its processes extensively. In addition to the initial assessment, companies that are certified will need to undergo periodic audits to retain the certification. The certification process has several steps, including:

Preparation: The company decides whether it wants to hire a consultant or undertake the certification process themselves. Consultants can help the business because of their knowledge of the certification process, saving the business time. If you’re interested in getting professional advice with your ISO application, contact us today.

Documentation: Businesses should document their quality management systems. Ideally, a business should spend time documenting every detail of its management systems. More documentation is better than less.

Implement the System: After outlining the system, it’s up to the business to ensure they apply the processes. The aim is to incorporate the [process improvements into the daily function of employees.

Internal Audits: Certification requires both internal and external audits. the internal audits happen first, usually conducted by the company’s lead ISO certification personnel. The audit helps the business to understand where it needs improvement to conform to the requirements of the ISO.

External Audits and Certification: the final part of the process relies on third-party auditors that are part of an ISO registrar. These businesses audit a company to ensure that it conforms to the guidelines set out by the ISO. If they do, then the company is granted certification.

What is ISO Certification Process?

While the best-case scenario runs between six to eight weeks, typically, there is no set period for a company to attain certification. On starting the process, a business usually gets a letter that they can include with any tender submissions to show that they are in the process of obtaining ISO certification. After the company attains certification, they will receive an announcement letter that states their compliance.

Why Should a Business Get ISO Certification?

Aside from making the business more marketable, there are a few essential points that certification addresses. Certified companies will demand greater respect within their industry. Their business processes will demonstrate a higher level of consistency and control as long as they conform to the requirements. Customers particularly will have the peace of mind that the business is certified to follow best-practices. Additionally, companies that maintain ISO standards have to keep employee training in line with those requirements. Its employees, therefore, have a firmer grasp of the organization’s goals and procedures. This translates into better employee performance.

What is ISO Certification Time Frame?

As mentioned before, companies that are certified need to undergo periodic audits to ensure they retain the certification. These occur yearly. In these audits, the auditing body examines the company’s quality management system to ensure that it conforms to the ISO’s standards. After three years, a re-certification audit happens. A company has the chance to lose its certification because of severe violations. Occasionally, auditors might allow for some leeway to businesses that are in danger of losing their ISO certification to make changes.

Book A Call With An Expert Now
Savvy Tips to Hire an ISO Consultant

Savvy Tips to Hire an ISO Consultant

General

Hire an ISO Consultant that is a Superhero…

In order to get an ISO certification, one must be able to get a consultancy of an experienced and well-trained ISO consultant.

An ISO consultant can “sink” or “sail” you through the ISO certification process.

If ISO consultant doesn’t know about ISO standards, standard’s compliance, non-conformists, and re-certification process then only a holy miracle will get you ISO certification.

If your hired ISO consultant fails to understand the procedures and standards then it will probably result in wastage of your time and money because that way you won’t be getting ISO certification.

On the other hand, if you take help from an experienced and a well-trained professional for your ISO Certification, you don’t have to worry about compliance of your current management system with other ISO standards because well-trained and experience ISO consultant will ensure to help you redesign or modify your current management with your team to the maximum compliance to other ISO standards.

Hire an ISO Consultant Right for the Job for ISO Certification

1- Your In-House Team Versus ISO Consultants’ Team

If your organization needs to develop the current management system in accordance with ISO standards that means your in-house team will be having very little familiarity with ISO standards and its compliance.

If that is exactly the same situation in your organization, then we would recommend you hire an ISO consultant to hire a knowledgeable and experienced because that ISO consultant will be on a higher level than your in-house team.

Ask yourself a question that if your in-house doesn’t know about ISO standards and its compliance then how can your newbie in-house team will be able to achieve ISO certification within defined timelines.

Most probably you will be thinking that by proper training and post-evaluation tests, your in-house team can become capable to help themselves get ISO certification then it is must for us to inform you that there is a significant chance that your team can achieve ISO certification but will take so long-time period that can affect your profit margins negatively.

2- Risk of Time and Money Wastage

A hired delegated team of ISO consultants will ensure to get your organization ISO certified within timelines and obviously this is what they get paid for. Getting ISO certification is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Relying on your less experienced and less ISO familiar in-house team may lead to complete failure to comply with ISO standards thus resulting in complete drainage of your time, energy and money.

On the other hand, an experienced ISO consultant knows what needs to be done to get ISO certification within as little time as possible and will eliminate maximum ambiguities and non-conformities in your current management thus increment in your chances to get ISO certification.

3- Better Real World Implementations & Suggestions by ISO Consultants

Your in-house team might get immune to observing loopholes in your system.

They might have gone blind to indicate the leak points in your current management system. When you  hire an ISO consultant, he or she will be able to pick those loopholes efficiently and will also make all the necessary improvements or modifications in your current management system making it easier to get ISO certification within as less time as possible.

What to Consider to Hire an ISO Consultant

ISO certification process can be a very daunting journey without getting involved an experienced and knowledgeable ISO consultant. Following are the attributes that need to be considered while hiring an ISO consultant for your company’s ISO certification:

1- Relevant ISO Certification Skills Set

ISO consultant should have knowledge about all versions of ISO standards and its practical application. Manufacturing and service providing firms differ from each other and so their internal operations too.

The right ISO consultant must be able to understand all types of management styles which means he/she should be able to decipher formal and informal management styles and should be able to perform gap analysis by doing Internal audits, ensure and report all highlighted gap closure.

2- Experience and Track Record

While hiring an ISO consultant, consider educational background and degrees.

For relevant experience, don’t just get satisfied by looking at the number of years and number of clients only. Instead see the success rate of the project on which the ISO consultant worked, look into the type of clients with which the ISO consultant worked in past years.

For further verification, you can check on their references and past case studies.

3- Pricing & Ability to Meet Deadlines

The pricing of ISO consultancy depends on few factors depending on the type of organization like the size of the organization, the number of employees and the level of employee engagement leading to effective teamwork.

Small to medium companies usually get ISO certification within less time period thus incur a lower cost as compared to bigger companies.

Big companies that get basic training and design their management system in accordance with ISO standards takes a longer time period to get ISO certified thus incurs a higher cost as compared to smaller companies.

During price agreement, it is important hire an ISO consultant and discuss your budget and their pricing to get your organization ISO certified.

To see if the client will be able to meet the deadlines for ISO certification, do look into their past projects’ success rate within defined timelines.

 

Book A Call With An Expert Now
How to Maintain your ISO Certification

How to Maintain your ISO Certification

Quality Management Standards (QMS)

Getting ISO Certification is not a problem but maintaining it is not an easy task and requires both the time and money investment with a proper channel and team. To keep the company in compliance with ISO standards and implementation of the standards in true sense is mind scratching task and cannot be done without the commitment of top management and involvement of the workers. Ostensibly after obtaining or getting the certification it is thought that main part of the job is done. In fact the real job starts after it and that is to maintain and implement it.

Most of the companies follow the standards just to get ISO certification and after that stop working according to the defined standard operating procedures (SOP’s). Standards must be followed in any way to achieve the long term benefits of the standards. Most of the companies do not know what to do before the (Surveillance, internal or external) audits? There is no need of any extra preparation before the audit if the defined standards are followed all the way. Following are steps that are important for maintaining the ISO Standards:

  • Defining Standard Operating Procedures(SOP’s):

In this phase, firstly the operating procedures are defined and procedures are the activities that are workers performing and a little modification is done in ISO certification, the working methods to improve performance and satisfaction of both the workers and customers. Most of the time, the activities, that are being performed, conforms the  ISO standards but some new activities are also introduced. New activities will help to implement and to work effectively with standards.

  • Training:

After setting the ISO standards the next task is to train the workers and management staff. This training is related to: how to perform new activities?  Best thing about the ISO standard is that it provides a basic framework on how to identify the needs and plan the training along with the requirements of ISO standards to measure the effectiveness of ISO certification training. Measuring of the effectiveness can be done with the help of Key Performance Indicators(KPI’s) and will give information regarding that how much the people are competent.

  • Control of Documents:

Whether an organization is certified or is starting, the key is to let the processes that are used to meet its goals determine documentation of ISO certification requirements. The ISO standards has many instances where it calls for the specific evidence of conformity. Documents are the evidence of conformity to requirements of ISO certification. Therefore, documentation file of ISO certification must be according to the objectives and must be updated. A complete control system must be established so that documents are identifiable and retrievable when needed in ISO standards. Arrangements for Proper storage and protection must be made.

  • Switching from ‘Plan’ to ‘Do’ phase and Follow up:

Procedures development is easier than the implementation in ISO certification. Ensuring the implementation takes more time than writing them. This is the phase of real importance in which the written ISO standards are implemented on floor. A complete follow up system is established which shows and indicates ISO certification whether the things are aligned with the said statements or not and what type of actions are required to improve them.

  • Monitoring and measuring:

Monitoring and measuring system help to collect data required for analysis and evaluation in ISO certification. Through this statistics are generated which are then used to convince and to show the results of the implemented standards. A proper analysis of the data will help to make decisions based on the facts rather than assumptions.

  • Checks and Acts:

Evidence based decision making will definitely lead to continual improvement of the system. During the decision-making process some checks and acts are set. These checks and acts will help to eliminate the poor practice to rush to improve standards just before the annual compliance check. Because just working on the standards before the annual checks, is a quick fix method and will not come with benefits of implementing standards. These checks and acts are also documented and are used in management review meetings to check the effectiveness of the standards implemented.

  • Management Review Meetings:

A structured review meeting that is arranged periodically to discuss the functioning of management standards and to take actions to correct or prevent it when necessary. Management review meetings are conducted to ensure that all the activities are in accordance with the standards. Activities are reviewed at all possible level and all the staff is given awareness related to any update and any change in trend. Revision and verification are done and actions are taken either to improve them or to eliminate the disturbing activity. In other words, corrective or preventive actions are taken to maintain the standards and to get the related benefits. It is not mandatory to document the management reviews procedure but it will help in conducting the next meetings. Revision of previous minutes of meetings and actions taken to counter problems will help to measure the effectiveness of the meetings. Management review meetings can be conducted after a specific period of time when management feels comfortable. It may be conducted once in a year or more frequently.  Frequently conducted review meetings will result in better results.

  • Internal Audits:

With all the activities mentioned above, a complete and thorough internal audit is necessary. It will provide additional information not only about the level of compliance but will also help to identify the potential failure areas and also provides the suggestions to correct/remove them. This will give a real scenario to fairly judge the condition of the system. Together with other information gathered along the way, top management will be able to conduct a more comprehensive and value-added management review and will make evidence based decisions that will lead to continual improvement of the system.

  • External Audits:

An external audit (system audit) conducted on a management system is a documented process performed to verify, by examination and evaluation of objective evidence, that applicable elements of the system are appropriate and effective and have been developed, documented, and implemented in accordance and in conjunction with specified requirements. This audit is performed by an audit organization independent of the customer-supplier relationship. Audits are done to verify compliance, conformance, or performance.

Having all the above elements covered means having a complete compliance with the management standards. All these elements are the first place where the auditors will be looking, so having this covered will prepare for a better and stress free audit.

If you need help with Ongoing Maiantaince or Internal Audits feel free to contact us, Sync Resource is a premium ISO consulting Serivce provider.

Book A Call With An Expert Now