London Borough of Bexley: Securing IT Assurance with MetaCompliance Advantage

By Emily Greenhill

December 9, 2009

Press Release – December 2009

London Borough of Bexley:  Securing IT Assurance with MetaCompliance Advantage
London Borough of Bexley joins the ranks of UK Local Authorities that have implemented MetaCompliance Advantage, the leading IT Assurance solution from Baronscourt.

IT Assurance: The User Awareness Challenge
User awareness is fundamental to London Borough of Bexley’s IT Assurance programme.  Working towards CoCo accreditation and best practice IT Governance in the form of ISO27001, the Council were aware that the customary methods of employee communication, such as email and corporate intranet, would not allow them to fulfil their regulatory obligations.  An enhanced, sustainable model for IT Assurance was required, one that would deliver continuous and repeatable user awareness and accountability right across the organisation. The Information Governance team at London Borough of Bexley realised that in order to achieve this effectively, they required a dedicated compliance automation tool, one that would meet their very specific, best practice requirements.

The Solution - MetaCompliance: A Market Leading IT Assurance Awareness solution
London Borough of Bexley’s 4,000 strong workforce is made up of a diverse range of users, all of whom must be consistently included in the IT Assurance awareness programme.  Alongside this, the Council required an uncomplicated solution that would be easy to implement, unburdensome to manage, and would allow them to achieve quick wins in user awareness, with GCSx deadlines firmly in mind.  London Borough of Bexley had also previously invested in corporate awareness initiatives, such as eLearning, so it was important that any solution complement and easily integrate with these existing strategies.

After reviewing a number of products on the market, London Borough of Bexley deployed MetaCompliance, from Baronscourt, the market leading IT Assurance awareness solution. 

Paul Warricker, ICT Expert at London Borough of Bexley Council explains:
“In a climate where organisations need to find smarter ways to work, Metacompliance allows us to achieve more without burdening our existing resources. Baronscourt have shown their ability to understand customer needs and we’re confident the investment we’ve made now will continue to provide positive results in the future.”

Underpinning IT Assurance at London Borough of Bexley
Deploying MetaCompliance will bring a number of key benefits to the IT Assurance programme at London Borough of Bexley:

• All borough employees that have access to information, including 3rd party vendors and non electronic users, will be included in the IT Assurance programme;
• MetaCompliance Advantage will allow London Borough of Bexley to achieve user awareness and accountability with verifiable communication and situational awareness functionality;
• The software will enable the Council to automate the demonstration of due care, thus meeting CoCo and other regulatory obligations quickly and effectively;
• Automated risk assessment and measurement of IT Assurance posture will deliver sustainable,  best practice IT Assurance, and allow the organisation to streamline Information Governance expenditure;
• MetaCompliance is certified to Windows 7, the technology benefits realised from this has allowed Baronscourt to future proof the software, and London Borough of Bexley to future proof their IT Assurance programme. 

Employee awareness is the single biggest differentiator between nominal and best practice information governance programmes, and is an essential factor in maintaining regulatory compliance and IT Assurance.  Traditional methods of communication, such as email and corporate intranet, simply won’t deliver the necessary levels of awareness that are required. Organisations must look to specialist compliance automation tools to ensure that they develop an educated, vigilant workforce that properly uses, values and protects the data held within its perimeters. 

END

Further Information

About Baronscourt
Founded as part of the Intertech Group, a subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation USA (www.intergraph.com),  Baronscourt was spun out of the group in 2006 after Intertech was acquired by AIM listed Maxima Holdings PLC (MXM.L). 

With its International Headquarters in London and its software development centre in Ireland, Baronscourt has a focus on enabling organizations to achieve IT Assurance.  The company develops software for Enterprise and Government that automates the increasing regulatory mandate of IT Assurance regulations and the related user awareness requirements that have become a significant burden on modern business.  A key driver for our solutions is our design requirement to reduce the complexity of Compliance and improve the effectiveness of IT Security in the organizations that we work with.  Baronscourt solutions meet the requirements of all sizes of organisations, in terms of complexity and scale.

About London Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley is in south-east London in a key location in the Thames Gateway, between major growth areas in London and Kent. The Council has a strong record of achievement and a long-established reputation for effective partnership working, which is reflected in a series of national awards. 

Baronscourt Press Contact:    
Emily Greenhill, Marketing Manager   
Tel: 0207 917 9527                  
Email: egreenhill@eu-baronscourt.com

London Borough of Bexley Press Contact:
John Ferry, Head of Communications
Tel: 0208 303 7777
Email: john.ferry@bexley.gov.uk

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