Getting ISO certified is an excellent way to show that your organisation adheres to international standards and continuously strives to improve its processes. When customers and business partners know you are serious about providing high-quality products and services, they will likely partner with you and recommend your business to others.
ISO, or the International Organisation for Standardisation, has developed popular standards for industries worldwide. Its work has helped to foster easier collaboration between organisations, higher quality products and services for customers, and a more organised business world overall.
In this post, we will focus on one of the most popular standards; ISO 27001. The ISO 27000 standards focus on information security and risk assessment, particularly now that most companies collect and handle sensitive information.
iso 27001 certification by best practice
What Is ISO 27001?
Developed by ISO together with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ISO 27001 is the leading international standard that relates to cyber risk management and information security. ISO 27001 certifications are issued by certification bodies after conducting external audits.
Implementing ISO 27001 allows companies to develop a standardised and efficient Information Security Management System (ISMS) that ensures customers, employees, and business partners are protected from cyber-attacks and their data is handled appropriately.
Which Factors Affect Your ISO 27001 Certification Process?
Achieving a good certification process requires understanding the main factors that influence the process. Each case is different, so it is impossible to predict a specific time limit that is generally applicable.
1. Your Organisation’s Size
Most of the time, your organisation’s size will directly affect how quickly you can achieve your ISO 27001 certification. You can implement your ISMS company-wide or just in the few areas that might be affected by data breaches, depending on how your company uses data and how broad its scope is.
2. Business Maturity
The best thing about ISO standards is that your organisation will directly benefit from implementing them. Most ISO standards typically align with some of your internal practices. ISO standards are designed to make your activities more efficient, streamlined, less costly, and secure.
If you have just established a new business or did not invest adequately in development, it will take longer to make the relevant changes. A gap analysis will give you a better idea of how ready you are for ISO 27001 implementation.
3. How Many Requirements You Meet
Achieving ISO 27001 certification requires meeting all the requirements defined in clauses 4 to 10. Here is what you need to do to finalise the process of meeting all the essentials:
- Identify the scope of IMS within your organisation
- Establish senior management-level roles and information security regulations
- Draft a risk treatment plan and understand the information security risks
- Set ISMS objectives
- Declare your controls in the Statement of Applicability
- Conduct an internal audit to evaluate your current performance
- Correct processes that are not satisfactory
You can determine how close you are to becoming ISO 27001 certified by assessing your company and identifying the requirements you haven’t met.
4. Senior Management Support
Implementing a standard like ISO 27001 requires adequate human resources and time. If your senior management isn’t dedicated to offering this support, the process can be slowed down or jeopardised entirely. Luckily, this rarely happens since the benefits of getting ISO certified are apparent.
What Is the Timeline for ISO 27100 Certification?
If your company is committed to ISO 27001 certification and already has experience handling information security, the process will take about three months for small organisations and a year for large companies.
Working with an accredited ISO certification body like Best Practice Certification is the best way to speed up the process. We specialise in implementing ISO standards and taking business owners through the process. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you get ISO certified.
