Empower your IT consulting and risk advisory organization to enhance security practices, demonstrate expertise, and drive operational excellence with Glocert International's specialized ISO certifications, security assessments, and compliance solutions.
IT consulting and risk advisory organizations handle sensitive client data, operate in highly competitive markets, and are subject to evolving cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection regulations. The combination of regulatory pressure, data sensitivity, operational risk, and client trust requirements creates unique compliance challenges that require specialized expertise and consulting-specific solutions.
IT consulting and risk advisory organizations must navigate multiple regulatory frameworks including GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), PIPEDA (Canada), and local data protection laws. Understanding which regulations apply and how they intersect is critical for maintaining compliance, avoiding penalties, and protecting client data across different jurisdictions. Many clients require consultants to demonstrate security capabilities through certifications.
Many IT consulting and risk advisory organizations make critical mistakes including treating ISO 27001 as an IT project instead of a governance system, implementing security controls without aligning with consulting practices, ignoring client data protection requirements, and failing to maintain evidence between audits. Understanding these common pitfalls helps organizations avoid costly compliance failures.
Understanding which regulations apply to your IT consulting or risk advisory organization and how they intersect is critical for maintaining compliance and protecting client data.
GDPR (EU): Required for organizations processing personal data of EU residents. Applies to technology and SaaS companies operating in or serving EU customers. Non-compliance can result in fines up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover.
CCPA (California): Required for businesses that collect personal information of California residents and meet certain thresholds. Applies to many SaaS and technology companies serving US customers.
PIPEDA (Canada): Required for organizations processing personal information in the course of commercial activities in Canada.
SOC 2: Commonly required by enterprise customers for SaaS providers. Demonstrates security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls.
ISO/IEC 27001: Widely recognized information security management system standard, often required for enterprise contracts and regulatory compliance.
ISO/IEC 27701: Privacy information management system extension to ISO 27001, helping organizations demonstrate GDPR and other privacy law compliance.
AI Governance: Increasing focus on AI systems, including EU AI Act, ISO/IEC 42001, and transparency requirements for AI-powered services.
Cloud Security: Enhanced scrutiny of cloud service providers and multi-tenant architectures, particularly ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 for cloud-specific controls.
Supply Chain Security: Growing emphasis on third-party risk management, vendor security assessments, and software supply chain security.
These certifications help IT consulting and risk advisory organizations demonstrate compliance, protect client data, and meet client requirements.
For information security governance. Essential for consulting firms. Provides a systematic approach to managing information security risks and protecting client data across consulting operations and engagements.
Learn MoreFor risk management. Critical for risk advisory services. Provides risk management principles, framework, and process guidance, helping consulting firms demonstrate risk management expertise to clients.
Learn MoreFor IT service management. Essential for IT consulting firms. Ensures effective IT service delivery and management processes aligned with business requirements and client expectations.
Learn MoreFor privacy management. Critical for consulting firms handling client data. Extends ISO 27001 to provide a privacy information management system aligned with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations.
Learn MoreFor service organization controls. Commonly required by clients for consulting firms. Demonstrates security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls for consulting services handling client data.
Learn MoreFor AI governance. Essential for consulting firms providing AI advisory services. Provides a management system for artificial intelligence, addressing AI risk, transparency, and ethical use requirements.
Learn MoreFor business continuity. Ensures consulting firms can maintain critical operations and client services during disruptions, demonstrating operational resilience to clients.
Learn MoreFor security validation. Helps consulting firms demonstrate security capabilities to clients by identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities in consulting operations and client environments.
Learn MoreUnderstanding these common pitfalls helps IT consulting and risk advisory organizations avoid costly compliance failures and build more effective security and privacy programs.
Many consulting organizations implement ISO 27001 as a technical IT initiative rather than a governance system. Information security requires executive leadership, organizational culture change, and integration with consulting practices and client engagement processes, not just technical controls.
Implementing security controls without aligning with consulting practices, client engagement processes, and advisory workflows leads to friction, workarounds, and compliance failures. Security must integrate seamlessly with consulting operations and client service delivery.
Consulting firms often focus on internal controls while overlooking client data protection requirements, confidentiality obligations, and third-party risk management. These represent significant risk vectors that must be assessed and managed in consulting engagements.
Under GDPR and other privacy regulations, consulting firms must ensure vendors and subprocessors protect client data, but many fail to properly assess, contract with, and monitor vendors, creating significant compliance and breach risks for consulting organizations.
Many consulting organizations prepare evidence only during audit periods, leading to gaps, inconsistencies, and compliance failures. Continuous evidence maintenance, monitoring, and documentation are essential for effective compliance in consulting environments.
Consulting firms often fail to maintain certifications and demonstrate security capabilities to clients, missing opportunities to differentiate themselves and meet client requirements. ISO 27001, ISO 31000, and SOC 2 certifications help consulting firms demonstrate security expertise and competitive advantage.
Glocert supports IT consulting and risk advisory organizations through independent certification, assurance, and audit services aligned to international standards and consulting-specific requirements.
Our IT consulting and risk advisory compliance services include ISO 27001 certification for information security governance, ISO 31000 certification for risk management, ISO 20000-1 certification for IT service management, ISO 27701 certification for privacy management to protect client data, SOC 2 audits for service organization controls, and penetration testing services to demonstrate security capabilities to clients.
We understand the unique challenges of IT consulting and risk advisory organizations including regulatory complexity, client data sensitivity, demonstrating security expertise to clients, maintaining certifications as a competitive differentiator, and third-party risk management. Our auditors bring deep consulting industry expertise and work with you to build compliance programs that demonstrate security capabilities, protect client data, meet client requirements, and enhance your competitive position in the consulting market.
Are you ready to enhance security practices and achieve compliance excellence? Glocert International is ready to assist with ISO certifications, security assessments, and compliance solutions tailored to your IT consulting or risk advisory organization.