Nottingham City Council | CyberLab Success Stories
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Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council chose CyberLab for the team’s expertise across all areas of cyber security and the personalised, professional approach.
- Goverment
- 1,500+
- Penetration Testing
The Client
Following a rigorous and detailed RFQ process, Nottingham City Council chose CyberLab as their penetration testing partner.
CyberLab was selected on a range of criteria including competitive pricing, technical expertise, experience, and supplier fit.
The Council’s IT team particularly appreciated CyberLab’s seamless professional approach, our engagement during the scoping and delivery phases, and how easy it was to work with the CyberLab team from start to finish.
The Challenge
As a member of the Government’s Public Services Network (PSN), Nottingham City Council is required to subject its network security infrastructure to a thorough annual health check. The council has a policy of regularly rotating suppliers, and all new projects are put out to tendering or RFQ process by a minimum of three potential providers.
The Solution
As an existing supplier of security solutions to the council, CyberLab was invited to submit a proposal, along with two other potential penetration testing service providers. A key factor used to evaluate bids was the final price of the solution – in common with all public sector organisations – but others included the supplier’s technical expertise, industry accreditations, track record, supplier fit and general approach to working with the council.
CyberLab won the bid on a combination of factors including its CREST accreditation, consultative approach, flexibility, track record and price competitiveness. After an exhaustive review of the competitive responses to the RFQ, which involved a second round of bids and a consultative negotiation, Mark selected CyberLab to carry out an intensive two-week programme of penetration testing.
“We needed to find a way to meet very tight budget constraints. Of the suppliers we spoke to, only CyberLab demonstrated what we felt was a genuine desire to engage with us to reach a workable solution for both parties. I’d recommend CyberLab not just for their expertise in the whole cybersecurity area, but for their personalised and professional approach.”
Mark Smith, Server Support Manager, Nottingham City Council
The Outcome
Mark was impressed with CyberLab’s approach during the bidding process, in particular with responses to questions concerning the submitted proposal. The overall quality of response from CyberLab, the price point, which was competitively priced and 2-3x less expensive than rival bids, and the professionalism of the team involved all led Mark to conclude that CyberLab should be entrusted with the penetration testing work.
From the initial engagement on scoping and pricing to prepping the council team and delivery of the testing, CyberLab showed a willingness to fit in the testing work around the Nottingham City Council IT team’s existing commitments.
While the technical work was being carried out – both on site at the council offices and remotely – CyberLab showed complete thoroughness and professionalism in its work. Around the time that CyberLab started the penetration test work, two new members of staff had started in the council IT security team. CyberLab’s security engineer was happy to bring them in on the project and explain the testing process, the types of vulnerability being searched for and procedures for logging discrepancies and mitigating issues.”
Asked whether they would use CyberLab for cybersecurity services again, the response from the Council’s Mark Smith is an unqualified “Yes.”
Mark Smith, Server Support Manager, Nottingham City Council
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