Scaling Your ISO 27001 Journey: When Software Makes Sense

From Stuart Barker, Founder of High Table.

Over the years, I've helped thousands of businesses globally implement ISO 27001 and build Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) that stand the test of time.

I founded High Table to make achieving ISO 27001 simpler, giving businesses access to practical, consultant-built resources, proven templates and expert guidance that remove the unnecessary complexity from getting certified.

Since then, High Table has evolved.

What started as a practical ISO 27001 toolkit has grown into an end-to-end ISO 27001 certification and compliance company, supporting organisations around the world to implement, achieve and maintain ISO 27001.

And throughout that journey, I've always believed the tools you use should reflect where your business is today.

High Table's toolkits and expertise help businesses get their programme off the ground, understand what's required and establish the right foundations.

For the organisations that want to build their programme through an online ISMS, that’s where our partnership with Hicomply comes in.

There usually comes a point as the organisation grows when the way it manages compliance needs to grow too.

More people become involved. More evidence needs managing. Requirements expand. And the spreadsheets, documents and processes that helped get the programme off the ground become harder to coordinate.

When a scaling organisation is ready to move to a compliance platform – whether that's at the beginning of its journey or further down theline – Hicomply is the ISO 27001 software I recommend.

Here's why High Table powers it.

So, how does Hicomply support ISO 27001?

There's an important distinction to make when looking at ISO27001 software.

A lot of the conversation around compliance technology focuses heavily on the tech stack.

Cloud infrastructure. Monitoring. Technical evidence.

All of which, are of course important. But they're only one part of an ISO 27001 programme.

There are 93 Annex A controls in ISO 27001:2022 and only 34 are technological.

The remaining controls span your organisation, your people and your physical environment:

Policies
Risks
Ownership
Approvals
Suppliers
Evidence
Tasks

These are the activities that bring an Information SecurityManagement System (ISMS) to life across the wider business.

Hicomply provides a digital workspace for bringing those different elements together, connecting controls, policies, risks, evidence and ownership in one place.

For organisations that have already started their ISO 27001 journey with High Table, that means the foundations they've established don't need to be left behind when they're ready for software. They can bring that work into Hicomply and continue building from it.

For those ready to take a digital approach from the outset, thestructure to establish and manage the programme is there from day one.

And as requirements expand beyond ISO 27001, additional frameworks and standards can be introduced while continuing to build on those same foundations.

What does smarter compliance actually look like?

One theme that's trending in compliance is the power of automation. And with good reason.

Compliance programmes involve plenty of repetitive workthat, in today's digital world, can be made faster and easier.

Evidence collection. Internal reminders. Recurring tasks. Mapping work across requirements. Identifying where gaps lie.

These are exactly the kinds of activities where automation has the potential to give valuable time back to compliance teams.

But automating everything shouldn't be mistaken for smarter compliance.

Technology can surface information.

It can remove repetitive administration.

It can tell you something needs attention.

Yet there are decisions within an ISMS that require context, judgement and accountability. And this is where technology should step aside and make way for your people to decide what happens next.

That's the balance I look for: use technology to remove the work that doesn't require human judgement, while giving people better information to make the decisions that do.

Because ultimately, accountability for your ISMS still sits with your organisation.

What does whole-business compliance really mean?

This is where Hicomply stands out for me, and what powered our partnership.

Whole-business compliance can sound like another industry phrase, but in practice it's relatively straightforward.

Your ISMS doesn't exist in one department.

It depends on different people, processes and systems across your organisation working together.

So the platform supporting it needs to do the same.

There are four areas where I think Hicomply brings that to life particularly well.

1. You get audit-ready – and stay audit-ready

An audit is an important milestone.

But it shouldn't be the only point at which you understandwhere your programme stands.

Hicomply gives you continuous visibility across the ISMS soyou can prioritise your to-do list – and answer the questions senior leadershipand the board are asking:

What's complete?
What needs attention?
Who owns what?
Where are the gaps?

Instead of pulling that picture together when an audit approaches, you can see it throughout the year.

That changes the role of the audit. Rather than being the deadline that triggers weeks of preparation, it becomes an opportunity to validate a programme that's already being maintained.

2. Your whole business is connected

Good compliance doesn't happen in silos.

Every team has responsibilities. HR, IT, Operations, Leadership and beyond.

Hicomply connects controls, risks, policies, evidence and tasks in one place, while allowing the right people across the organisation to retain ownership of their part.

That gives the programme manager running the ISMS greater visibility without requiring them to personally own every compliance activity.

And it gives everyone else clarity over what they're responsible for.

One view of the programme, with the whole business connected to it.

3. Your programme can grow with your requirements

Achieving ISO 27001 may be today's objective, but it might not necessarily remain the only one.

Your objectives change. You enter new markets. The business grows. A customer asks for another certification. New regulatory requirements emerge.

When that happens, you shouldn't have to disregard the work you've already completed and start again.

Hicomply allows existing controls, policies and evidence to be mapped across frameworks, so the foundations of your current programme can support the next stage of it.

The programme can grow alongside the organisation rather than becoming another constraint on it.

And what I particularly like about Hicomply is that as more people become involved, there's no per-seat tax or hidden fees for adding users.

4. You have expertise alongside the technology

This is a big one for me.

Software can give you structure, visibility and automation.

It can't answer every compliance question your organisation will encounter.

Every Hicomply customer is supported by a dedicated lead ISO implementer included as standard.

Not just during onboarding. Not gated behind a higher subscription tier.

The same person supports you across the lifecycle of your programme.

Where more specialist expertise is required, Hicomply also has a trusted network of ISO consultants it can bring in.

For me, that's an important part of whole-business compliance.

Technology is part of the answer.

Experienced people are the other part.

What should you look for when you're ready for ISO 27001 software?

At High Table, I work with organisations at different stages of their ISO 27001 journey.

For many businesses just getting started, their priority is around understanding ISO 27001, getting the foundations right and establishing a programme that works for the organisation.

That's what our toolkits and expertise are there to help with.

One of the questions I'm asked most often is:

"When is the right time to move to a complianceplatform?"

My answer is always the same: there isn't a fixed point.

It's about recognising when your compliance programme needsto evolve alongside your business.

But when the time is right to consider a dedicated digitalworkspace and I'm asked what to look for in a compliance platform, there are afew things I come back to.

Does it support the whole ISMS?

Not just technical monitoring. Look at how it handles the organisational, people and physical elements of ISO 27001 too.

Does it give you a continuous view?

You should be able to understand the state of your programme throughout the year, not just when an audit is approaching.

Does it build on the work you've already done?

Moving to software shouldn't mean throwing away the programme you've built. And adding another framework shouldn't mean starting from zero again.

Do people remain in control?

Automation should reduce repetitive work and provide better information, while keeping judgement, approvals and accountability with the right people.

Can you get help when you need it?

Technology is much more useful when there's genuine expertise behind it.

Those are the things I look for in an ISO 27001 platform.

And they're the reasons Hicomply is the platform I've chosen to recommend.

When you are ready for compliance software

When the processes that helped you get started begin to limit visibility, create duplicated work or stagnate as your business enters growth, it's worth considering what comes next.

Whatever that point looks like for your business, the foundations you've already established should be the starting point – not something you leave behind.

That's what I like about Hicomply.

You take the programme you've already built and bring ittogether in a digital workspace.

Your ISMS becomes more connected.

You gain greater visibility across it.

The work you've already completed can be reused as requirements evolve.

And your people remain in control.

Whether you're looking for ISO 27001 software to bring your existing programme into one place, need to support additional frameworks as your organisation grows, or are building a new approach within a compliance platform, Hicomply cuts through the complexity.

It's not about changing what works before you need to.

It's about knowing when the time is right to bring it all together – and having the right platform there when you do.