InfoSaaS And Axora Announce Solutions For Retaining Information Security For Oil, Gas And Mining Sectors

InfoSaaS and Axora have concluded a partnership agreement intended to transform the processes and costs of achieving and retaining information security, data protection and business compliance ISO management system certifications for companies operating in the oil, gas and mining sectors.

Companies in these sectors are subject to the same compliance requirements as other organizations, but the very nature of their business activities means their sites are frequently in difficult-to-reach and/or inhospitable locations. As a result it can be both difficult and/or expensive to:

• Bring and keep compliance managers on-site to implement procedures and processes, collaborate with local teams, and generally prepare for certification or surveillance audits
• Bring auditors from Certification Bodies on-site to conduct the initial audits necessary for the awarding of certifications or to carry out the annual surveillance audits required for organizations to retain those certifications.

SaaS software solutions

InfoSaaS provides SaaS software solutions for achieving and retaining multiple ISO management system certifications. By virtue of being platform-based, these solutions enable:

• Compliance managers (or whoever is responsible for ISO compliance within their organization) to collaborate with colleagues on-site, and to conduct "internal audits" to ensure that standards are met ahead of any external audit; and
• Certification Bodies to conduct surveillance audits remotely – eliminating the need for auditors to travel to difficult-to-reach locations.

Axora and InfoSaaS collaboration

Axora works specifically with companies in the oil, gas and mining sectorsAxora works specifically with companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors, identifying technologies with the potential to shape the future of such businesses, helping them understand the key opportunity areas that sit across the value chain, and connecting them to the innovators.

Several InfoSaaS solutions are available on Axora’s platform, supporting: ISO27001 (information security management), ISO9001 (quality management), ISO14001 (environmental management) and ISO18001/ISO45001 (health and safety management).

ISO certifications costs and challenges

InfoSaaS and Axora intend to leverage each other’s expertise in information security, data protection solutions"Peter Rossi, co-founder of InfoSaaS, said: “ISO certifications are valuable for any business to earn. But, for otherwise similar companies that happen to be in different industries, there can be huge disparities in the costs of doing so. InfoSaaS and Axora intend to leverage each other’s expertise – in information security, data protection and business compliance solutions, and the oil/gas/mining industries respectively – to transform the processes and associated costs of certification and surveillance audit for companies operating in those sectors, where simple ‘geography’ may currently make it expensive and difficult.”

Energy and mining sectors

The energy and mining sectors are under increasing pressure to adhere to the ever-changing compliance certification criteria"Dr. Nick Mayhew, Chief Commercial Officer for Axora said: “The energy and mining sectors are under increasing pressure to adhere to the ever-changing compliance certification criteria and improve their strategies. With this comes additional overhead in terms of resource, time and effort required to obtain and maintain these standards. We are excited to help organizations leverage the InfoSaaS platform to drastically simplify and manage their compliance operations in key business areas including environmental, security, health and safety.”

Demand for remote audits

ISO management system certifications have grown in importance to organizations operating in increasingly competitive markets around the world, clearly communicating relevant or important competencies to potential customers. Demonstrating certification against industry standards and evidencing a mature approach to the protection of sensitive information and personal data have become baseline requirements in many markets and for some customers.

The global coronavirus pandemic has driven a surge in demand for remote audits generally, requiring businesses to adopt new approaches and solutions that allow teams, compliance managers and auditors to collaborate effectively to achieve and retain certifications.