The International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) published its first recommendation in 1951, and since then it has established itself as the world’s foremost independent creator of international standards. The requirements it sets relate to anything from specific products to services and systems, and exist to uphold definitive benchmarks for ‘quality, safety and efficiency’ (iso.org).
Two of its most well-known and coveted standards are ISO 9001 – the quality management system standard – and ISO 27001 – the information security management system (ISMS) standard. For businesses in particular, these standards represent a dedication to work to the best possible globally-recognised criteria of quality and excellence. ISO accreditations can only be assessed for and awarded by official certification bodies registered with the ISO.
Codestone was awarded ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 in January 2017 and as such, we understand both the benefits of achieving these standards and the challenges of attaining them. Working towards accreditation can be a long process, but it’s considerably easier with a sound enterprise resource planning (ERP) system behind you, such as SAP Business One.
What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 quality management certifies that accredited businesses have the highest standard of procedures and processes in place. It can apply to any type of business or organisation, product or service-based, of any size and within any sector.
Over the years, ISO 9001 has become the paradigm of operational and organisational excellence and is widely known to be the most effective way for a business to demonstrate consistent quality in its working practices. Many public and private tenders demand ISO 9001 accreditation, especially in the UK.
What are the benefits of ISO 9001?
There are many benefits, but they all stem from the fact that your business will run in line with standards proven to be best practice. The requirements affect every aspect of business management, giving you process uniformity and increased productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction as a result.
Many organisations who achieve ISO 9001 find that it helps them win more business, that their team members are happier and more motivated, their reputation and profile are raised, and that their improved workflows prepare them well for future growth.
How SAP Business One can help you secure ISO 9001 accreditation
Simply put, SAP Business One is a business management system that exists to support your organisation in its end-to-end processes – the exact remit of ISO 9001. It is perfectly designed to help you implement the kind of operational streamlining you will be assessed for. SAP itself holds ISO 9001 accreditation (as well as ISO 27001), and it has structured its ERP solutions to maintain the stringent criteria these standards set.
As we mentioned above, ISO 9001 calls for best practice in all areas of your business, and SAP Business One can help you achieve it. The system covers everything from accounting and finance to CRM, purchasing and operations to insight and administration. As a central management system, SAP Business One adapts to the unique needs of your business, both now and as it develops, and provides an infrastructure for optimal standards of performance.
What is ISO 27001?
ISO 27001 ISMS states that the accredited organisation follows information security best practice in terms of how its information security management system deals consistently with the management, protection and storage of data. The standard applies directly to the ISMS itself, which can be of any technology.
As you might assume, ISO 27001 is especially pertinent right now in the run up to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will update and strengthen the laws surrounding the protection of personal data within the European Union from May 2018.
All businesses and organisations that use and/or store personal data in any form will have to be compliant with GDPR when it comes into effect. As you might imagine, having the internationally-recognised ISO 27001 accreditation can help enormously with this, as most (but not all) of the GDPR requirements are covered.
What are the benefits of ISO 27001?
As we mentioned above, holding ISO 27001 can go a long way towards making your business GDPR compliant and minimising the risk of expensive data breaches. But on a fundamental level, ISO 27001 is often seen as a way to demonstrate that your business can be trusted to handle sensitive personal information, in an era of increasingly intense focus on the right to privacy.
As a standard known around the world, ISO 27001 is a great reputation booster, a mark of confidence that clients and consumers alike will become more and more aware of as GDPR looms.
How SAP Business One can help you secure ISO 27001 accreditation
Achieving ISO 27001 is all about risk assessment and management; identifying the threats to the data you use or hold and putting safeguards in place to protect it. Many organisations have all the hardware and software they need already in place, but are not using them in a secure way, so reaching the standard can be more to do with recording and updating working practices than focusing on firewalls.
Just as for ISO 9001, this is where SAP Business One comes into its own. You will need a system that enables you to document how you manage your organisational processes and to restructure any that present a risk to the data you hold. As a framework for stable IT and business management, SAP Business One is ideal for this, giving you a solid foundation through which to bring your procedures in line. As your business grows and develops, SAP Business One can keep endorsing your ISO 27001 compatible business practices, maintaining your compliance for the ongoing risk assessments your standard will depend upon.
Plus, when you implement SAP Business One with us via the Codestone Cloud, you’ll have the added benefit of a cloud-delivered infrastructure with its own ISO 27001 accreditation. With our ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 accreditation and SAP Business One Gold partner status, we are perfectly-placed to support you in your mission for ISO accreditation. Contact us today to find out more.