Prior to undergoing the Cyber Essentials certification process, GT Wales faced a significant hurdle. As a community-focused charity dedicated to supporting Gypsies and Travelers across Wales, access to funding is vital for sustaining their work. However, to achieve key funding from the Welsh Government, GT Wales needed to obtain a Cyber Essentials certification – making it a mandatory step in securing essential financial support.

The team at GT Wales lacked the time and in-house knowledge to complete the certification swiftly to achieve the funding quickly. Louisa Devonish, Director of GT Wales explained, “I looked at what was required to get Cyber Essentials, but I was unsure of the information and did not have time to find it out”. With the urgency and importance of achieving Cyber Essentials for GT Wales on Louisa’s mind, she was unsure where to turn next.

What began as a different conversation on an unrelated topic about their IT, GT Wales discovered that Orbits offered dedicated support for Cyber Essentials certification — a service they hadn’t previously been aware of. Dean, a Director at Orbits IT explains, “As a Pro Support client, much of their infrastructure was already in line with the Cyber Essentials standard. By leveraging this, we were able to support GT Wales in swiftly achieving a Cyber Essentials certification to meet the Government guidelines laid out to them for achieving funding”.

With the grant being so helpful in assisting the community, passing Cyber Essentials first time was important so the grant could be achieved as soon as possible.

While there are plenty of bodies that can assist with the Cyber Essentials certification, choosing Orbits to assist here was the natural choice for Louisa – “Orbits have been supporting our IT systems for a number of years, they are reliable and responsive to our needs, so they were the obvious choice to go with.”

Orbits IT provided hands-on support to guide GT Wales through the entire certification process. This included:

• Clarifying the requirements of Cyber Essentials in simple, actionable terms,
• Assessing current systems for remaining compliance gaps,
• Implementing the necessary technical controls and policies,
• And managing the application process through successful certification.

Louisa commented on the process, “We are pleased with the service provided by Orbits with both securing the Cyber Essentials certification, but also with the support they give us day-to-day with IT support.”

Achieving Cyber Essentials has provided a range of meaningful benefits to GT Wales. Most importantly, it enabled them to successfully achieve a grant from the Welsh Government. Now with the freshly obtained funds, Louisa explains, “we were able to benefit as we could increase our income and provide more services to the community we support.”

In addition to funding access, the certification process equipped the staff at GT Wales with the knowledge on upholding strong cybersecurity practices. While much of their existing infrastructure, set up and maintained by Orbits IT, was already in line with the Cyber Essentials standards, the process provided valuable clarity for staff. It enhanced their understanding of day-to-day best practices and how to stay safe online, creating an enhanced sense of cybersecurity awareness within the organisation. This reduces exposure to cyber threats, further securing GT Wales’ cyber defences.

The team at GT Wales “were impressed with the communication from Orbits and how quickly they managed to help us secure Cyber Essentials.” The support they received not only helped them in navigating the complicated cybersecurity landscape but also reaffirm the value of their day-to-day relationship with Orbits IT. With Orbits continuing to provide reliable IT support, GT Wales enjoys ongoing peace of mind and the assurance that they have a dependable partner by their side.

“Overall I was really happy with the service that Orbits provided to secure this certification. Its good to know that we have someway to turn where all our IT needs are met.”