Does IT pass the service test, are you just muddling through?

Have the actions or behaviour of an individual adversely impacted or are they likely to impact on the efficiency or operational effectiveness of the Service?

Suzaku Consulting is a veteran-owned business, as an Armed Forces Covenant signatory we are keenly aware that our daily actions reflect on our values and standards, and affect the operational efficacy of our customers.

This is especially prescient in relation to our customers who work directly with the Ministry of Defence, and those who work within the defence supply chain. We don’t work with Primes, instead we enable SMEs in the defence industry to make sure they are never muddling through.

When it comes to the security and operational resilience of IT, organisations which work defence have a variety of challenges:

• Cost pressures within government;
• Advanced Persistent-Threats (APTs), actively seeking to harm the supply chain;
• Lack of clarity on meaningful ways to improve IT security;
• Risk of loss of sensitive information;
• Operational efficiency to enable you to win public sector contracts.

It is self-evident that as a supplier to government, price is going to dictate a lot of what bids you win or miss out on. It is incredibly frustrating to see brilliant UK businesses not being able to sell to the MOD because of price being paramount, denying UK-grown defence industries from succeeding.

All the while, your business is at risk in a way unmatched by other industries. Working within the defence supply chain, your business has been a target from day-dot. Despite this, you may not have the internal expertise to see off the threat, instead depending on suppliers who are happy to shift whatever they can your way – but is it operationally effective, does it pass the test?

The major challenges SMEs in defence face are around core security needs: endpoint, email, network and cloud security. These are the domains where you can be hit most effectively, they are what you need to invest in (in that order). Protecting against data-exfiltration is interwoven within these core domains.

Finally, you have to be competitive. This means not being left behind, but also not pushing forward without the right support. This doesn’t cost the earth, it means having a trusted supplier who also adheres to the service test.

How we can help

Serving the crown is something to be proud of, in practice this means working in a way which is sensitive of the specific nature of the work being carried out. Our customers include award-winning defence contractors who we always aim to do right by, this means keeping their IT costs low and being reflective of their place within the defence supply chain.

As essential component of this is achieving accreditations which enable you to work with the MOD and government at all: Cyber Essentials and the Defence Cyber Certification.

The MOD and IASME are increasingly pushing the DCC to ensure that you have a nuanced review of your place in the defence supply chain, and the sensitivity of the work being carried out. The DCC starts at Level 0 and goes up to 3 which is the most thorough review.

Aside from this, your business needs a highly-reactive and adaptive support team, one which sits alongside you and acts as a force multiplier for your business. In defence, we always work better in teams – think of our support teams as your logistics supply chain for IT.

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.