In order to give our current and future customers even more confidence that we deliver on our promises, we’ve been planning, preparing and undergoing audits to test the quality and security of our business.
Over the past twelve months we’ve been on an intense journey, but one that we felt was vital for us to undertake.
This week it’s with absolute delight that we get to announce our certification of quality and security with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.
This is really important to us as an enterprise WordPress agency, as we press into our reputation as one of the leading global providers for the world’s leading website platform. The certification of both standards sets us apart in our industry as experts, one of very few agencies to have achieved this form of distinction.
What is the International Standards Organisation?
ISO – the International Organization for Standardization – in short terms is pretty epic. The non-governmental institution is a collection of standards organisations, with members from 164 different countries.
Their role is to set international standards that ensure safety, share innovation, deliver solutions to common problems, encourage good management practices and more.
At Illustrate Digital we have focussed on ISO’s standards for quality management and information security.
What is the ISO 9001 quality standard?
ISO 9001 is defined as the international standard that establishes requirements for a quality management system (QMS). Businesses and other organisations use the standard to demonstrate how they consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
This quality standard certification is important to us, it underpins our dedication to deliver at the highest levels of quality. Both when researching and delivering high-end digital experiences through our UX design services, but also in our commitment to delivering superior performance through WordPress development projects and ongoing customer relationships.
What does it mean to have ISO 27001 for security?
ISO 27001 is centred around an information security management system (ISMS). This is a framework of policies and procedures that includes all of the legal, physical and technical controls involved in an organisation’s information risk management processes.
In our world – delivering high-end digital products to banks, payment providers, law firms, government bodies and so on – our ability to maintain security and protect data is absolutely critical. This makes us especially proud to have achieved the standards certification for information security with ISO 27001.
What does it actually take to be ISO certified?
The rigorous process of becoming ISO certified is designed to scrutinise the standards and measures that an organisation uses to produce its products or carry out its services.
Reserved for companies with an extremely high threshold for quality and security, the process sees external auditors carry out a review of 114 controls for ISO 27001 and 11 clauses for ISO9001. An ISO certified company must not only meet, but must maintain these standards.
After detailed evaluations are carried out, auditors then issue scores based on a pass, minor nonconformance or major nonconformance. A major means to fail, whereas a minor requires further work to be undertaken in order to pass – a bit like a UK driving test.
This is the good part… The result of our audit was a straight pass! This means that no minor issues were raised and there was nothing to correct – a rarity that the auditors praised us for in their report and something we’re especially proud with as a team.
What does ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 mean for our customers?
In a nutshell, you’re in safe hands.
Companies, public bodies and organisations worldwide recognise the benefits of working with an ISO certified provider. In fact, some organisations choose to only work with ISO certified companies as it guarantees them that standards are being maintained.
This is exactly how ISO is designed. It ensures a consistently high quality of work and encourages businesses to follow proper security practices.
We’re really delighted to officially introduce these standards and control measures throughout the work we produce and relationships with our customers.
If you’re a customer reading this, you’ll already know of the exceptionally high bar we hold ourselves to. Our work in UX design is all about passionately pursuing improvements in digital user experiences. Our work in WordPress and our levels of expertise are some of the highest standards globally. This certification provides us with the international seal of approval and confidence to continue building upon our successes, whilst providing customers with the security that we are maintaining these high standards.
