National standards organizations from around the world are united under the name ISO (International Organization for Standardization). Those that are members of ISO work together to produce and promote global norms for a multitude of topics, including technology, scientific testing procedures, working conditions, societal challenges, and more.
In 2022 we started the process of getting certification in two standards ISO 27001 and ISO 22301. January 2023, Selleo officially became an ISO-certified company, giving us a unique selling point as a trusted partner for your software needs.
Want to know more about why your software development partner should be ISO-compliant? What are the benefits you will get by working with a certified software house? Read on.
What are the benefits of ISO 27001?
ISO 27001 ("ISO/IEC 27001 - Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection — Information Security Management Systems — Requirements") was created to assist enterprises, regardless of size or sector, in adopting an Information Security Management System to secure their information methodically and economically.
The basic goal of ISO 27001 and an Information Security Management System is to protect three aspects of information:
- Confidentiality: Only authorized persons have the right to access information.
- Integrity: Only authorized persons can change the information.
- Availability: The information must be accessible to authorized persons whenever it is needed.
Here’s what ISO/IEC 27001 brings to an organization:
- Ensures the safety of all types of data, including digital, cloud-based, and paper-based information.
- Boosts defences against cyberattacks.
- Offers a framework that is centrally controlled and keeps all data safe.
- Makes sure that the entire organization is protected, including from vulnerabilities related to technology and other threats.
- Makes the organization aware of changing security risks.
- Maintains the data's availability, confidentiality, and integrity.
Still not sure what is in it for you? If the company you are collaborating with is ISO 27001-compliant your data will also be protected by those laws. This gives you a better customer experience, improved security and satisfaction. It will also hold true for your customers if the software you are creating is meant to be further distributed.
Benefits of ISO 22301 certification (Business Continuity Management)
ISO 22301's definition of business continuity management takes into consideration concepts like information security management, IT management, and business continuity management.
Here are some of the highlighted benefits of ISO 22301 Certification.
- Offers services and goods that are dependable and up to par in terms of meeting client expectations.
- Utilizes risk management, emergency readiness, and contingency planning to effectively prevent downtime and financial losses.
- Recognizes how legislative and regulatory obligations affect your company and its clients.
- Problems may be avoided and fixed more easily as a result of increased product uniformity and traceability.
- Independent validation against an accepted industry standard throughout the world is very persuasive.
- Certification opens doors since it is frequently required by procurement requirements as a prerequisite for delivery.
- Industrial criteria for sourcing suppliers are established via certification, which is acknowledged on a global scale and approved throughout industry supply chains.
To demonstrate compliance with partners, owners, and other stakeholders, we implemented and certified our systems. Now we can prove that you we are among the best in our field thanks to ISO 22301, which directly reflects the quality of our solutions and potential collaboration with you.
Why should your software partner be ISO-compliant?
By collaborating with an ISO-certified organization you can be certain that they have the best information security practices in place. But there’s even more to it than that.
Thanks to ISO your software partner stands out in a crowded market, but the same applies to you as well. Your value offer is improved by having a product compliant with ISO regulations
How? The certification can help you in the following ways:
- it demonstrates to clients that your product aligns with the best practices to reduce threats to information security and that you take a proactive response to vulnerabilities.
- Your reputation increases, which can make a big difference between winning and losing a client.
- Compliance with ISO 27001 may be a requirement to access international markets. It will let you compete with rivals on a global scale, and in certain nations, ISO 27001 compliance is a crucial admission condition.
- The trouble of replying to auditors and filling out extensive security questionnaires for each new customer is eliminated by complying with ISO 27001 requirements.
Organizations with ISO certification can demonstrate a quick turnaround time when submitting proposals to their potential clients because the majority of clients have ISO as a requirement or at least with security measures equal to it.
Why do companies decide to become ISO-compliant?
Wondering why companies go through all this hustle to get ISO certification? Consider those.
Avoiding Financial Loss Resulting from a Security Breach
Do you consider the potential costs of ISO 27001 compliance? You can end up paying more if you don't do it. In comparison to the possible expenses of a data breach and service outages, you should consider the cost of compliance.
When considering these costs, consider the following points:
- Implementing information security may appear to be an expenditure, but since problems occur less frequently and you can spend less money resolving them, it turns out to be a beneficial investment.
- Research demonstrates that a data breach is not only incredibly costly but also exposes organizational insights. The average overall cost of a data breach was estimated to be $3.79 million in the "2015 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis" by IBM and the Ponemon Institute. This translates as a 23% rise worldwide over the previous two years.
- Because ISO 27001 is a well-recognized standard for the security of information assets, organizations that comply with it may be able to avoid paying hefty fines and penalties if they do not.
- Intelligent choices based on risk management and the cycle of continual improvement are also made possible by the implementation in organizations. This aids managers in strategically determining their entire cost-benefit or return-on-investment analysis by identifying how many employees are required, what tools should be purchased, which systems should be reviewed, and how events should be handled.
- The most recent version of the standard, ISO 27001: 2013, enables C-level corporate governance by automatically integrating all other standards, including Business Continuity Management ISO 22301, IT Service Management (ISO 20000-1), Quality Management (ISO 9001), and Environmental Management (ISO 14001). Managers can develop a system of integrated procedures based on the standards because of the similarities in their organizational structures, which will save time and money.
Ensuring Data Privacy and Integrity
Most organizations, especially those that retain the personal information of their customers, place high importance on maintaining data privacy and integrity. An Information Security Management System (ISMS) is a useful tool for ensuring the efficient management of information security and lowering the risk of data breaches. You must take into account the administration and execution of your organization's ISO 27001-based ISMS because:
- The ISO 27001 standard is the most dependable method of data storage, access control, safe usage, and efficient data destruction.
- The methodical methodology of ISO 27001 makes it easier to recognize, control, and lessen the impact of common risks to your information.
- The safety of your information assets is ensured when your business is ISO 27001 compliant, which lowers the likelihood that you will face legal action and lose the trust of your customers as a result of data breaches.
- You can quickly identify a security breach occurrence and take appropriate action according to ISO 27001 protocols.
- With the use of its access control, data backup, and data organization protocols, the standard also assures data integrity. This makes it possible to separate the damaged data from the remainder and fix the problem in the event of a security breach.
Defining Information-Handling Roles and Responsibilities
Though this may be the most underestimated reason to achieve ISO 27001 compliance, it is equally as important. For an organization experiencing sudden growth, it is only a matter of time before it faces problems relating to the roles and responsibilities of information assets. Going for ISO 27001 compliance automatically makes you define roles and responsibilities and strengthen your organizational structure. It also ensures:
- You define who will make the decisions, who will hold the responsibility for information assets, and who will be in charge of authorizing access to information.
- The entire organization is covered by security, including staff, technology, and procedures, creating an organizational culture that is conscious of information security.
- Information security is a priority for senior management and requires the management to define and identify ISMS roles and responsibilities.
- Your organization conducts regular information security awareness and training programs that reduce employee-related security breaches.
Beyond the ones mentioned above, ISO 27001 offers a wide range of advantages to organizations. It is evidence of how seriously your organization takes the issue of information security, not just a certification to display to the public.
Summary
Becoming ISO-certified was on top of our ‘to-do’ list as we wanted to get audited by an independent organization with high authority. Those standards were always a priority for us and we followed them rather informally in order to serve our clients the best we can. An official ISO certification gives us the confidence that we do it right, consistently, and according to international industry standards.
Selleo is an ISO-certified Software Partner who can help you guide and develop software needs. To get more details contact us.
