“As this was all very new to us at the time, we started looking for a partner to guide us through the process,” Maya says. “Seeing one of my colleagues was familiar with Toreon and its services, we decided to set up a meeting with them, as well as about three other interested parties,” Maya adds. One of the competing parties was a company that had implemented ISO 9001 with Tobania, to demonstrate the company’s ability to consistently provide services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. That competitor, however, turned out not to be as knowledgeable about data security measures as Toreon.

So, what else made Toreon stand out for Tobania? Maya describes how their final choice was definitely made based on a combination of several reasons: “Although there were similarities between the different candidates, they each had their own individual approach to the process, ranging from price-setting strategies to their takes on collaboration. After meeting with Toreon, we found that, apart from having the necessary expertise, they stood out because of their unique, personal touch. We really felt that Toreon believed in a one-on-one approach, much more than a larger company would.”

Maya also considers the fact that two Toreon employees were dedicated full-time to Tobania’s road to certification as proof of Toreon’s added value: “Those two Toreon professionals were very complimentary in terms of their backgrounds and expertise – one of them being more technically proficient, the other one being very knowledgeable about information security standards. Moreover, it seemed that they were really willing to get to know us, to become part of Tobania’s story, which we appreciated.” Another advantage Toreon offered, in Maya’s opinion, was the fixed-price contract  which included everything from set-up, internal audit, implementation of and guidance during ISMS maintenance, to the external audit: “The set price gave us that extra sense of security; we knew we would not have to face any unexpected costs along the way.”

Tobania started negotiations with Toreon at the end of 2018, and their journey towards effective data security lasted until about November 2019, with a successful external audit resulting in obtaining the ISO 27001 certificate. Although Maya reflects back positively on her company’s collaboration with Toreon, she does admit there is still some work to be done: “Although the project went smoothly overall and we enjoyed the collaboration, we now realize the tailored content Toreon provided us with needs to be maintained.” However, Maya continues, “we can now present our clients with a guarantee that we adhere to all aspects of the ISO 27001 standard. Moreover, it saves us plenty of time: by simply referring to our ISO 27001 certification, we can answer almost any of our customers’ security-related questions.”

The collaboration between Toreon and Tobania comes with another bonus feature, according to Maya: “For us, the fact that we have obtained ISO 27001 certification acts as a guiding principle in our security department: where are we when it comes to data security? What aspects do we need to consider? To put it simply: it gave us a starting point we can now build on ourselves.” To conclude, Maya stresses the all-important commercial added value for Tobania: “We now attract new clients, which allows us to keep on making a difference in the Belgian market.”