Covid-19 Didn’t stop Sentinel Partners on their Road to Certification!

6 Oct, 2020

After 25 years of data management experience in the private sector, Graham McCusker and Lee Coupland founded Sentinel Partners Limited in 2011.  Through their IT and data expertise and experience they are able to make a difference by bringing a modern and agile data integration technology to public sector organisations, helping to identify and save the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society.

With a culture that is constantly striving to do better and driven by the desire to exceed customer expectations, Sentinel made the decision to implement both the ISO 9001 Quality and ISO 27001 Information Security Management Systems, showing their commitment to continuous improvement and delivering a better service to their clients.

In February, Lead Auditor, Julia Meaden completed the first initial assessment with Sentinel as a physical visit.  During these visits the auditor will identify what work needs to be completed in order to bring them in line with the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.  However, with the number of coronavirus cases on the rise, we were forced to adapt our services and complete both the second initial assessment and presentation of Sentinel’s certifications remotely.

Being an IT company, Sentinel were more than used to living in a virtual word of connectivity so had no reservations themselves about switching to remote ‘visits’.  In preparation, we had already started putting measures in place to ensure we could operate ‘business as usual’ with minimal disruptions but how would Sentinel find our new dynamic way of working? Thankfully, they found the process ‘well managed and well supported’ and described the support from ISO Quality Services as ‘excellent’.

Sentinel were presented with their ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications in April and have since gone on to achieve Cyber Essentials too.  Director, Graham McCusker comments: “these certifications have exceeded our expectations and forced us to do things that we have been putting off for years.  It has made everything real and achievable for us and in the short time we have been certified, we have moved on light years.  Almost immediately after our ISO 27001 certification, we were able to successfully certify for Cyber Essentials which is as a direct result of our ISO progress and another feather in our cap”.

On working with Sentinel, Lead Auditor, Julia Meaden, recalls: “all recommendations were implemented to a high standard with many actions completed ahead of schedule.  Their professional approach made them a joy to work with.  They had a real focus on continuous improvement and I have no doubt that they will continue to build of the approaches that they have put in place”.

Kerrie Radburn of ISO Quality Services adds: “The team should be very proud of the hard work and commitment that has gone into their certification journey”.

Well done Sentinel!