Thanks to the fact that using Voice over IP services (VOIP) can help companies greatly reduce technology costs, improve customer service, and grow their business, research firm Gartner estimates that businesses across the world will spend £2.26 trillion on VoIP for business by the end of 2014. However, as hosted VoIP solutions and other internet based business technologies become more popular, businesses of all types are having to deal with a new threat to their stability.
According to a report from Fox Business News, cyber crime costs the global economy over £297 billion annually. Where do these costs come from? Stolen proprietary data, paralyzed infrastructure, loss of consumer confidence: all of these things can and will cost your business significant amounts of money in the event of a cyber attack.
If you’re using a VoIP phone company or you’re looking to make the jump to VoIP, you should make sure you contract with a service that has ISO 27001 certification. Doing so, your chances of protecting your company while gaining all the benefits a great VoIP phone company can offer greatly improve.
What is ISO 27001?
ISO 27001, as defined by the International Organization on Standardization (ISO), is an international business standard that helps businesses improve their information security management. In essence, ISO 27001 is a framework of security policies and procedures that IT services can follow in order to improve the strength of their defenses against cyber criminals. By choosing to use a VoIP phone company with ISO 27001, you gain a lot in terms of being able to protect your company from increasingly aggressive hostile entities in cyberspace.
How Does a VoIP Phone Company Receive ISO 27001 Certification?
You should know that ISO 27001 certification isn’t just handed out to anyone that asks. There is a lengthy, rigorous certification process that all applicants have to follow. As outlined by the ISO 27000 Directory, a well-known ISO information website, The process is made up of four main stages.
- First, a business assigns project responsibilities to its different departments
- Next, each department goes through a series of risk analysis, policy standardization, and a redefining of management practices to stick to ISO 27001 standards.
- The company implements the new security management controls.
- An auditor comes to the business, checking to make sure company policies mesh with ISO 27001 specifications. Upon receiving a passing grade, the company is awarded certification.
As you can see, by choosing a VoIP phone company with ISO 27001 certification, you make the conscious choice to go with a service that can protect your company’s data. While compliance with this standard is no guarantee, you won’t be a sitting duck by using a service that has undergone the rigorous process to receive this certification.