A Trusted Cyber Essentials Partner for MSPs

The Challenge

Managed Service Providers need cybersecurity partners they can trust with their customers.

For New Horizon IT, whose clients range from small professional firms to organisations with complex, distributed infrastructure, Cyber Essentials certification cannot be approached as a one-size-fits-all exercise.

Different organisations have different technologies, working practices and operational constraints. Certification needs to maintain the required standard while recognising the realities of how each business operates.

New Horizon IT needed an experienced certification partner that could work effectively with its customers, provide sound technical guidance and deliver Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus assessments without unnecessarily disrupting their operations.

A Long-Standing Working Relationship

New Horizon IT Director Matthew Peeters has worked with Mark from Plainsight Security over a number of years, during which Mark has delivered numerous Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus assessments for New Horizon IT's clients.

That experience has covered organisations with a variety of environments and requirements, requiring both technical expertise and an understanding of the businesses behind the technology.

For New Horizon IT, having confidence in the person working directly with its clients is particularly important. The quality of the certification experience reflects not only on the assessor, but also on the MSP that recommended them.

Maintaining the Standard Without Losing Sight of the Client

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus have clearly defined requirements. Our role is to assess organisations against those requirements while helping clients understand what is expected of them.

That doesn't mean every engagement needs to look the same.

Operational windows, remote locations, staff availability and remediation requirements can all affect how an assessment is delivered.

Plainsight Security works with the MSP and its customer to understand these constraints and, where the scheme allows, plan the assessment around them.

The objective is to make certification straightforward and well managed without compromising the technical standard required to achieve it.

Cyber Essentials Plus

For organisations progressing to Cyber Essentials Plus, the certification process moves beyond the Cyber Essentials self-assessment to include independent technical verification of the controls in practice.

This requires careful coordination, particularly for clients with distributed environments, remote users or operational constraints.

By working closely with both New Horizon IT and its customers, assessments can be planned efficiently, technical requirements communicated clearly and any necessary remediation handled pragmatically.

This helps minimise disruption while giving the customer the independent assurance provided by Cyber Essentials Plus certification.

The Outcome

The relationship has enabled New Horizon IT to offer its customers access to experienced Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus assessment while retaining confidence in the service those customers will receive.

Clients benefit from a certification process that is technically rigorous but also practical, approachable and mindful of their business requirements.

For New Horizon IT, it means having a certification partner it is comfortable recommending and putting its own name alongside.

Following the latest engagement, New Horizon IT awarded Plainsight Security 5/5 in every category, including:

• Professionalism and conduct
• Technical quality
• Communication throughout the engagement
• Timeliness of delivery
• Clarity and usefulness of reporting
• Overall satisfaction
• Likelihood of recommending our services

100% Client Satisfaction

5/5 Professionalism
5/5 Technical quality
5/5 Communication
5/5 Timeliness
5/5 Reporting
5/5 Overall satisfaction
5/5 Likelihood to recommend

What the Client Said

"At New Horizon IT, we support a diverse range of clients, from small professional firms to organisations with complex, distributed infrastructure. Certification work only goes smoothly when the assessor understands that no two businesses are the same, and that's exactly what we've always had with Mark.

Over the years Mark has delivered many Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus assessments for our clients. He is thorough, technically sharp and uncompromising on the standard, but he never loses sight of the business behind the IT. He takes the time to understand what each client does, where their constraints lie and what matters to them, and he tailors his approach to fit.

That flexibility has been invaluable. Our clients often have real-world limitations, such as operational windows, remote sites, staff availability and budget cycles. Mark has consistently worked around these, adapting scheduling and remediation timeframes so certification fits the client rather than disrupting it. The result is a process our clients find straightforward and reassuring, and one we're confident putting our name alongside.

For an MSP, a certification partner who is reliable, pragmatic and easy to work with is worth its weight in gold. Plainsight Security may be new, but Mark isn't, and we look forward to continuing that relationship."

Matthew Peeters
Director, New Horizon IT

A Cyber Essentials Partner You Can Put in Front of Your Clients

When an MSP introduces another provider to its customers, that provider becomes an extension of the MSP's own service and reputation.

That's why our approach to MSP partnerships is built around trust.

Plainsight Security provides Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification while allowing the MSP to retain its existing customer relationship. We provide the specialist certification expertise, work professionally with the customer and keep the process as straightforward as possible.

For New Horizon IT, that has created a long-standing relationship based on technical competence, flexibility and confidence in the service its clients receive.

As Matthew puts it:

"For an MSP, a certification partner who is reliable, pragmatic and easy to work with is worth its weight in gold."

Looking for a Cyber Essentials Partner?

If your customers are asking about Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus, you don't need to build an assessment capability in-house.

Plainsight Security works with MSPs to provide independent Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification for their customers, backed by experienced assessors and a practical, customer-focused approach.

Talk to Plainsight Security about becoming an MSP partner.