ISMS & Policy and Procedure

An Information Security Management System (ISMS) is a structured framework of policies, procedures, methods and processes designed to manage and protect your organisation’s information. It ensures there is a clear and documented approach to information security and data protection, covering how data is handled, who is responsible for what, and how risks are identified and managed on an ongoing basis.

An ISMS ensures that everyone in your organisation is clear on their responsibilities around information security. It provides a structured approach to protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your data and systems, and supports conformance with standards such as ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit. Without one, security measures tend to be ad hoc and difficult to evidence when audited.

Evolve North works with you to develop, implement and roll out your ISMS and associated policies and procedures. This includes policy creation, consolidation of existing documentation, modernisation of outdated procedures, staff awareness support, and ongoing maintenance guidance. Our aim is to produce an ISMS that works in practice for your organisation rather than a generic set of documents that sits unused.

Yes. Whether you need to create new policies from scratch, consolidate existing documentation, or modernise outdated procedures, Evolve North can help. We tailor our approach to your organisation’s current position and needs, so you are not paying to rebuild things that already work well. Many organisations come to us with a mix of formal and informal practices, and we help bring these into a coherent, auditable structure.

Yes. Evolve North can provide free policy templates to help you get started, or use them as a foundation that we tailor to your specific requirements. Templates cover common areas such as acceptable use, access control, incident management, data protection and remote working, and can be adapted to align with whichever standards your organisation needs to meet.

An appropriate ISMS with associated policies and procedures will support conformance with key standards and frameworks including ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, IASME Cyber Assurance and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit. A well-structured ISMS also provides the foundation for meeting regulatory requirements under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act.

Evolve North helps embed policies into your organisation so they are understood, followed and maintained over time. This includes supporting you with staff awareness and training to ensure your team knows their responsibilities, reviewing how policies are communicated during onboarding, and establishing review cycles so that documentation stays current as your organisation and its risk landscape evolve.