HubSpot is becoming the CRM and marketing platform of choice for modern businesses in the UK. While you might be naturally excited about setting up HubSpot, working with the right HubSpot partner is critical.
One way to guarantee the best HubSpot support is to work with an ISO 27001-certified HubSpot partner. So, what’s all the fuss about ISO 27001? Well, it is an internationally assured standard for information security.
If you work with a HubSpot partner with ISO 27001 certification, you can reap the benefits of working with a company that takes information security seriously.
One thing to note before we get started…
If you are already an ISO 27001 certified company already, then your compliance officer will probably require your HubSpot Partner to be certified as well (or at least provide evidence that they meet all the standards).
An ISO 27001 Certified HubSpot Partner: 7 Reasons Why They Are Your Best Choice
Working with a partner like Plus Your Business (PYB), which has ISO 27001 certification, gives you information security assurance. It can also help if you’re considering working towards the accreditation yourself.
Before signing any dotted line with a HubSpot partner, it’s best to learn more about them. Here are seven benefits for your company when you decide to work with a company like ours.
1) Enhances Your Company’s Data Security
Your IS0-27001 certified HubSpot partner will have had a third party assess them. A review of their processes and procedures is necessary to receive certification. The fact that the HubSpot Partner is certified means they have shown robust data security protocols.
The assessment determines how the company protects information relating to:
- Their business
- Their employees
- Their customers
It’s important to note that it is an entirely independent audit. Also, if the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) does the audit, you know it’s been done well. It’s not a case of somebody randomly coming in and saying things like, “I think you should have this…” or “I think you should have an app…” The certification process is far more vigorous than that.
It checks that the company’s compliance meets international standards. Highly technical, competent people create the standards to ensure businesses operate at the highest level. ISO 27001 covers the majority of companies in different industries and sectors. Although the ISO standards are not a definitive list, they aim to cover as many areas as possible.
All the data you share with your HubSpot Partner will meet the information security principles framework, known as the CIA Triad: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
2) Improves Risk Management
The risk management framework within ISO 27001 is a critical component that ensures the protection of information assets. It’s easy for anybody to say they have done a risk assessment. However, conducting a thorough risk assessment requires a deeper understanding of the process.
You must ensure you are undertaking an “effective risk assessment of your systems”. A HubSpot ISO 2700-certified partner has the capability and skills to help you correctly identify, assess, and mitigate risks for all your information assets. There are two different ways in which you can do this.
For example, some organisations like to:
- Identify the assets
- Then, find the vulnerabilities of the assets
- The next stage is to identify the threats that could take advantage of those vulnerabilities
Another way of doing it is to start by:
- Identifying the information
- Then, identifying how to protect that information
Because you are coming from two different angles, you can ensure you cover everything. Checking at both an asset and information level, helps you conduct a detailed risk assessment. You can then show as a business that when it comes to risk:
- You have a system in place for risk management
- You can do a review if an issue occurs
- You have steps in place to rectify a security incident
It’s also important to note that you must regularly conduct risk assessments. The reason for this is because risk likelihood can change over time. It’s best to “view a risk assessment as a dynamic, growing document”.
For example, as a company you need to do a new assessment when:
- A data security incident has occurred
- You change a process
- You start using a new piece of software
Any time you change the way you do business, it is imperative that you do a risk assessment. You don’t want the integrity of your security to be compromised. Improving the risk management setup in your organisation can positively impact your operations and business continuity.
Additionally, as part of ISO 27001 in Clause 6.1.2, there is a new control requirement for a business continuity plan and information communication technology (ICT) considerations. A business continuity plan is essential and part of a backup system if something goes wrong.
3) Compliance with Legal and Regulatory Requirements
Another control in ISO 27001 relates to identifying and understanding legislation that applies to your business. It’s important to note here that this applies not only to the UK. For example, if your company operates in other countries, you must adhere to that country's legal requirements.
Every country has different legal requirements, and some are stricter than others. Consequently, the best approach is to adopt the most stringent legislation out of all the countries in which you work. By doing this, your company will work to the highest standard possible.
Another two areas for consideration are how you collect information and protect your intellectual property.
- How you collect information
For example, if it is privacy information, you have a privacy policy you can use to show people what you are doing in this area - How do you protect your intellectual properties
Always remember to check how people use your logo and trademark. For example, there have been incidents when people have used a company logo on a LinkedIn profile but never worked for the company. Intellectual property also includes your supplier lists, customers, and data.
An ISO 27001-certified HubSpot partner can advise you in this area to help you reduce vulnerability.
4) Makes your CRM procurement process smoother
Working with a HubSpot partner with ISO 27001 certification will often give your compliance team or procurement department exactly what they need to feel secure.
In fact, in the past year we’ve found a considerable uplift in ISO certification being a requirement very late in the HubSpot deal process.
With only a handful of HubSpot Partners having the certification, it’s certainly been a competitive advantage.
5) Creates a Systematic Approach to Information Security
These management standards aim to create a systematic approach to managing information security, quality assurance, etc. For example, if somebody asks your company if you do backups, you can confidently inform them that you do, how, and why.
It’s not a case of ticking the box and saying yes we do it. There are structured processes and policies mandated by ISO 27001. An example is when companies decide to do everything they can to show security by doing backups, encryption and multi-factor authentication. It can be ultimately over the top, but there’s no understanding of why somebody is doing it.
Another example is as follows:
Think about the security of a building.
You decide to put a lock on it.
You put a camera on it.
You do everything you can to protect the building.
Then somebody asks you what is inside, and you say, “Nothing!”
What ISO 27001 wants you to do is:
- Identify what the risks are
- Identify how severe they are
- Decide on what controls you need to put in place
e.g. if you were thinking about improving passwords in your company. In years gone by, people would just press the button to enter, use the word “Password” for the password, etc. Now there is a general understanding that you must have stronger passwords.
In regards to ISO 27001, taking a systematic approach would be looking at best practices to set this up correctly:
A risk assessment shows that passwords are an issue
Let’s conduct research into this problem
There is something called Multi-Factor Authentication that can help
It means you must do authentication on another device
It’s all about looking at the situation in a broader context and understanding why you are doing something instead of just doing it.
6) Enjoy Greater Customer Trust and Confidence
The relationship between a client and partner can make the difference between success or failure in business. It’s essential to strive to create a harmonious working relationship based on trust. When everybody is open and honest, a relationship can strengthen over time.
ISO 27001 is precisely that. It is a mark of credibility and reliability in information security. Working with an ISO-27001-certified HubSpot partner allows you to project an image of a committed, secure, and responsible company. It will help you improve customer confidence in your products and services.
7) Continuous Improvement and Updates
ISO 27001 requires continuous improvement; part of the requirement is setting objectives. These objectives can be annually or longer and would involve things such as:
- Identifying an issue
- Deciding it would be better done a different way
- Realising that is a big task
- Understanding that there is no budget for it right now
- Having a plan to schedule it and do it in the future
An example could be a company that wants to move everything to the cloud. Identifying this as an objective and then working their way through a plan. It’s always about creating a planned change to manage something instead of doing a gut reaction to move to something there and then.
Your HubSpot-certified partner can help you stay up-to-date with security trends and technologies. This information can help your company meet continuous improvement goals and keep pushing forward. You can benefit from access to cutting-edge practices and proactive security measures.
‘Threat intelligence’ can help you understand what’s happening in the business world. These measures are essential - especially as cyber-attacks become more common and cybercriminals become more skilled. For example, decide on a backup communication system if you use WhatsApp and it goes down.
Additionally, your HubSpot partner can also help you conduct internal audits - especially in regard to your CRM, of course.
While the ISO 27001 certification lasts three years, a yearly surveillance audit exists. Conducting internal audits before the surveillance audit enables you to dig deeper into your company and spot errors to resolve before an external audit.
Working With an ISO 27001 Certified HubSpot Partner
These seven benefits can give your company the assurance it needs about information security. You can enhance data security, improve risk management, and meet legal obligations.
You can also enjoy customer confidence, a competitive advantage, and a systematic approach to continuously improving your business.
Choosing a certified HubSpot partner is a strategic business decision. You can feel confident that you receive the best support and advice for security and the HubSpot platform. Ready to find out what that feels like? Contact me at Plus Your Business, martin@plusyourbusiness.com, and we can discuss your business needs.