How Moore-Wilson streamlined ISO 27001 compliance with ISMS.online

Moore-Wilson is one of the largest digital agencies in the UK, based in London and Salisbury. The business builds, designs and develops client websites and provides a fully managed web hosting service, traditional branding and design elements, and digital marketing.

The Challenge

Moore-Wilson works with customers ranging from NGOs to government organisations and public sector bodies. Information security is a core focus due to the range of digital services the business provides, and ensuring the websites the team builds are secure through the entire development process is vital.

“We’re a small business dealing with enterprise-grade customers; to hold up to their standards is a challenge for a small business to do.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson

Achieving ISO 27001 certification was essential to demonstrate the business’s commitment to security and meet customer requirements. The team was using a governance, risk and compliance tool that wasn’t meeting their needs. Because of this, it was actively looking for a new platform to support Moore-Wilson’s ISO 27001 compliance management and help the business achieve certification.

“We’d been using an alternative governance and compliance tool beforehand. We never got along with it well, and we were recommended ISMS.online by one of our clients who said, “It’s been great; we’re using it.” So, we gave it a shot, and it was night and day different.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson

The Solution

Moore-Wilson implemented the ISMS.online platform to support its ISO 27001 compliance and certification journey. Jasper and his team quickly familiarised themselves with the platform, finding the interface easy to use and navigate.

The team used the Virtual Coach feature, which provides a library of videos, checklists and guides for ISO 27001 implementation, as well as the platform’s HeadStart pre-built bank of tools, frameworks, policies and controls.

“The Virtual Coach and the HeadStart material were some of the most useful features for us, as well as the way the platform is linked and designed to pull it all together to cross-reference material. Those three things are the core of it all.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson New Media

The ISO 27001 framework provided as part of the HeadStart content and the guidance of the ISMS.online customer success team enabled Moore-Wilson to streamline their compliance process. The pre-built templates enabled Moore-Wilson to reduce the manual workload behind developing processes, policies, and controls, as well as reduce the time commitment required to prepare for ISO 27001 certification.

“Our biggest challenge otherwise has always been time. Without the framework, we’d have struggled even more.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson

The Result

The business has successfully built an ISO 27001-compliant information security management system (ISMS) using the ISMS.online platform and has completed its Stage 1 ISO 27001 internal audit, with the Stage 2 internal audit booked.

“The platform helped us to hit the ground running as opposed to trying to work it out.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson

Our customer success team provided invaluable support during the business’s compliance journey, with regular check-in calls and ongoing email support.

“The team at ISMS.online has been outstanding, and it wouldn’t have been the same without them. Even if it’s just been a fortnightly call with a success manager to ask where we’re at, it keeps us on track and helps us hold ourselves accountable. I’ve got plenty of suppliers who’ve got customer success managers, and none of them have ever been anything remotely like what we’ve experienced [with ISMS.online].”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson

What’s Next?

The business is currently preparing for its ISO 27001 Stage 2 internal audit and has its external Stage 1 audit booked. Certification will demonstrate Moore-Wilson’s ongoing commitment to information security management, enabling them to meet their customers’ supplier security requirements and maintain a robust security posture as the business continues to grow.

“I wouldn’t want to think about not using the solution or trying to do ISO 27001 another way.”

Jasper Hargreaves, CTO at Moore-Wilson