Ending the 10-Year Wait to Become ISO Certified

Last week, the Netitude team received the news we’d all been waiting for: we are now officially ISO certified. For our Senior Leadership Team (SLT), it marked the culmination of months of planning, preparation, refinement, and internal auditing, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the business.

A special thanks goes out to Elena Henderson, our Continuous Service Improvement Manager, whose persistence, attention to detail and countless hours of work were instrumental in securing both ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 accreditation for Netitude.

What Does this Mean for Netitude?

As a small-to-medium-sized Managed Service Provider (MSP) operating in the South West of England, we’ve always been ambitious. Our goal has been to sustain the momentum we’ve generated over the past decade and continue to punch above our weight in an increasingly competitive MSP market.

We’ve celebrated some incredible achievements in recent years — from winning Somerset’s Employer of the Year Award (2024) to ranking among the Top 501 MSPs globally year-on-year, and earning a place in the UK’s Top 50 Managed IT Companies back-to-back.

But becoming ISO certified feels different.

ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 accreditation recognise the maturity of our processes, the strength of our internal documentation, and the discipline with which we operate across every team. It ensures that, whether you’re working with our Projects team, our Service Desk, or our in-house cybersecurity specialists, the standards remain consistent, structured, and accountable.

When issues arise — as they inevitably do in the MSP space — our teams are now even better equipped to handle them cohesively and collaboratively.

What is an ISO Accreditation?

ISO stands for the International Organisation for Standardisation — a globally recognised body responsible for setting best-practice standards across industries.

Achieving ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification demonstrates that Netitude has:

• Rigorous information security controls in place
• A robust quality management system
• Consistent, auditable and repeatable processes
• The ability to meet the expectations of clients with compliance or regulatory requirements

These certifications tell partners, clients, suppliers and prospects that we operate to the highest possible standards. Put simply: we’re committed to doing things the right way.

How Does This Affect Netitude?

In the past, we’ve had promising tenders and referrals fall through at the final hurdle because of ISO requirements. We’ve also seen long-term clients grow and mature to a point where they needed to transition to an ISO-certified provider to meet their own compliance obligations.

This certification removes those barriers completely.

It enables us to partner with organisations we previously couldn’t support and strengthens our position as a trusted MSP for businesses with strict governance, security and quality requirements.

Understanding ISO27001 and ISO9001 in Simple Terms

The words ISO 27001 and 9001 may seem like insignificant numbers and letters, but to us, they’ll make a massive difference to the way we conduct business and spread the reach of our service offering in the future.

What ISO 27001 Certification Means for Information Security

Being ISO 27001 certified requires a business to place a strong emphasis on information security. As an MSP, we handle a wide range of data, from business-critical datasets to personally identifiable information (PII), which, in the wrong hands, could be exposed or exfiltrated. That’s why security controls need to be at the forefront for a company operating in this space.

An ISO 27001 certification acts as a deterrent for cybercriminals due to the rigorous auditing process each organisation must undergo to achieve the accreditation. We often mention peace of mind in this industry, and a 27001 certification goes a long way to quelling the worries of both existing clients and potential prospects.

What ISO9001 Certification Means for Quality Management

On the other hand, you have an ISO9001 certificate, which is a one-way ticket towards quality management. To obtain this certification, the organisation in question must demonstrate consistency in their service delivery across the board.

Quality Management Systems (QMS) play a key role here. A QMS is essentially a one-stop shop that resembles an entire organisation's processes, procedures, and responsibilities, and in doing so, helps the organisation reduce waste, increase efficiency, and boost customer satisfaction scores (CSAT).

Rather than having a mismatched approach to the overall customer experience (CX), clients can benefit from a more unified and consistent approach, which ultimately puts them in a better position to achieve their goals and reflects well on the ISO-certified company in the process.

How We Prepared for Our ISO Internal Audit

Now that we’ve climbed the ISO mountain and reaped the rewards after months of planning and years of deliberation, we can finally reflect on the process — not only to document our journey, but to help other organisations navigate their own compliance goals.

Partnering with the British Assessment Bureau

To ensure our certification process met the highest possible standard, we worked closely with the British Assessment Bureau, an official UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited body. Their rigorous assessment helped validate every aspect of our Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Quality Management System (QMS), giving us — and our clients — complete confidence in the outcome.

The Role of Internal Audits in Achieving Certification

The internal audit is arguably the most important milestone on the road to ISO certification. It’s a structured, end-to-end review of how a business operates, designed to identify any gaps, risks, or inconsistencies across departments, processes, and documentation.

A successful ISO-certified organisation needs to operate as a unified, well-coordinated machine — with senior leadership and employees all aligned, communicating clearly and executing processes consistently.

That’s why the internal audit needs to be:

• Thorough and evidence-based, not a box-ticking exercise
• Collaborative, involving department heads and key stakeholders
• Honest, identifying where processes fall short
• Forward-looking, focusing on continuous improvement

Only once the internal audit is complete and the findings have been addressed is the business ready to face the external audit — the “real McCoy” — where an accredited certification body validates whether you’ve truly met ISO standards.

How Elena Led Our Implementation Process

After managing our Helpdesk Department for several years, Elena stepped into a newly created role: Continuous Service Improvement Manager. And she didn’t waste any time. Almost immediately, she set her sights on achieving something the business had been striving toward for nearly a decade — becoming ISO certified.

Elena led the internal audit process with a mix of structure, clarity and determination. She:

• Coordinated every department to ensure processes were formally documented
• Identified gaps in our quality management and security controls
• Introduced new policies and strengthened existing ones
• Ensured every team was aligned on their responsibilities
• Worked closely with the SLT to prioritise risk
• Organised mock audits to stress-test our readiness

Her work created a culture of accountability and transparency across the business. And most importantly, it helped us go into the external audit with confidence, clarity and proof that we were ready.

Here's what our Continuous Service Improvement Manager had to say about this remarkable achievement: 

"I'm really thrilled to have helped Netitude achieve ISO 9001 and 27001 this year. It's been a steep but fantastic learning curve to go through the implementation across the business, highlighting what we're doing well and discovering areas for improvement. These certifications show just how hard our team has worked, and our commitment to meeting the highest standards in our industry."

— Elana Henderson, Continuous Service Improvement Manager

Why ISO Certification Matters for MSPs in 2025 and Beyond

The MSP landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Cyber threats have evolved, the regulatory burden on businesses has increased, and clients expect higher standards of accountability from their IT partners.

This is why ISO certification is no longer a “nice-to-have” for MSPs — it’s rapidly becoming a baseline requirement.

An ISO9001 certification proves that an MSP delivers consistent quality, effective problem resolution and a predictable customer experience. Meanwhile, ISO27001 certification demonstrates an MSP’s commitment to protecting client data, reducing risk and operating with strong security governance.

For clients, choosing an ISO-certified MSP means:

• Less operational risk
• Faster issue resolution
• Predictable service quality
• Stronger data protection
• Clearer communication and documentation

For us, it reinforces our commitment to helping organisations grow safely and sustainably through technology.

How an ISO Certification Supports Our Long-Term Mission

ISO wasn’t just a badge for the website. It aligns directly with our long-term mission: helping people and businesses grow through technology.

The framework behind ISO forces you to:

• Document processes thoroughly
• Handle issues methodically
• Learn from incidents
• Demonstrate accountability
• Improve continuously

These are the qualities of a mature, modern MSP, one that can scale, innovate, and deliver exceptional service.

ISO certification provides us with the structure and discipline to support larger organisations, regulated industries, and fast-growing businesses that depend on consistency, reliability, and robust security controls.

It ensures that as we grow, we grow responsibly.

What’s Next for Netitude?

ISO certification isn’t the end of the journey - it's the turning of a new chapter for Netitude.

Over the next 12 months, we’ll continue to refine our quality management system, strengthen our information security controls, and prepare for our annual surveillance audits.

We’re incredibly proud of what the team has achieved — and even more excited about what this certification now unlocks for our clients, our people and our future.