A Bournemouth-based IT consultancy is offering an on-demand CISO – Chief Information Security Officer – service to provide clients with flexible and cost-effective access to senior cybersecurity leadership.

The initiative by QuoStar provides clients with ongoing senior IT leadership and guidance on cybersecurity strategy from a dedicated and experienced CISO-level consultant.

It follows concern at the risks to cybersecurity resulting from so many employees now working from home.

The CISO consultant is responsible for identifying, controlling, and managing the multitude of threats and challenges that businesses face in today’s rapidly changing security landscape.

The service operates in close partnership with the existing senior leadership team to ensure both consistency and continuity.

QuoStar say that, as such, businesses benefit from an end-to-end understanding of their security performance, protection, and implementation.

They can, therefore, strengthen their security for the fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

The CISO service is led by QuoStar’s Head of Security, David Clarke.

He has more than 25 years of experience working in cybersecurity, formerly as Global Head of IT Security at BT Radianz and several FTSE 100 companies.

David, pictured left, currently oversees the development, implementation, and support of QuoStar’s clients’ information and security-related risks.

He said: “As a result of the pandemic, company boundaries have become much more fluid.

“With so many employees now working from home, it’s not always clear what belongs to the company and what is personal.

“Businesses are now having to manage different servers, cloud services, and access control issues, and their technology needs to be safe and compliant in all these areas before it can be performant.

“Organisations need to adopt a multi-layer approach to security to manage these risks effectively, but that can be costly.

“With our on-demand service, however, businesses can truly afford to get the best protection possible, without putting undue strain on the bottom line.”

The new CISO initiative follows the launch of an on-demand CIO (Chief Information Officer) service earlier this year.

QuoStar say the CISO service has already seen a rapid uptake of interest, with several businesses already taking advantage of the offering.

Robert Rutherford, CEO at QuoStar, pictured right, said: “We’re extremely pleased to offer this kind of tailored service to our clients.

“As more businesses embrace hybrid and remote working, IT services will require more and more support and management.

“For many mid-market businesses, our on-demand consultant services can effectively act as a top-level IT professional.

“As a result, this model will allow businesses to benefit from day-to-day IT support and pursue a variety of business improvement projects at the same time.

“With the current level of threat to businesses, access to an on-demand CISO service is incredibly timely for our customers.

“As we continue to expand our consulting services, we are more committed than ever to ensuring that businesses get the most of their investment in IT and can see a clear Return on Investment (RoI).”

Founded in 2005, QuoStar is a full-service IT provider delivering specialist IT support, consultancy and security services to mid-market and high-growth businesses.

It has clients in the professional services, financial and manufacturing sectors.