Press release (05/11/2009) - Socitm Consulting achieves AUK quality certification
Socitm Consulting wins Accredit UK certification
Socitm Consulting has been awarded certification under the Accredit UK quality standard run by The National Computing Centre. Accredit UK is a mark of quality for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry and identifies businesses that will deliver ICT solutions to a high standard.
Socitm Consulting today announced that it has achieved accreditation under the NCC’s Accredit UK scheme in the ICT Business Consultancy, ICT Technical Consultancy and ICT Service Management Consultancy categories. Certification follows a rigorous vetting process which ensures that accredited suppliers have an appropriate balance of technical resources and sound processes, employ and recruit staff with the right skills and experience, deliver to meet client expectations and have a history of client satisfaction.
The Accredit UK standard is a service delivered by the National Computing Centre Limited. Launched in 2008, it aims to drive up standards in the UK ICT industry and provide ICT buyers with a shortlist of suppliers whose excellence has been assessed. Current segments addressed under the scheme are: ICT Consultancy, Software product design and development, Solutions design and development, Communications (network design and installation), New media & e-commerce and Information assurance.
Socitm Consulting’s Consulting Manager Doug Maclean comments: “Achieving Accredit UK certification has taken time and energy but has real benefits for us as an organisation and for our customers. We wanted to prove to prospective clients that we can meet their requirements in terms of quality and competence, to benchmark our procedures and processes against industry best practice, and to provide ourselves with a framework against which we can measure our policy of continuous improvement. Prospective clients know they can come to us or to other Accredit UK listed suppliers and be confident that they are getting end to end quality of service. This should simplify the procurement process, minimise project risk and enable buyers to broaden their supplier base safely.”
Vaughan Shayler, Director for Accredit UK said: “By using the Accredit UK standard, Socitm Consulting is helping to make it easier for purchasers to feel confident to buy services from technology companies. 94% of people that we surveyed think that the Accredit UK standard is a good idea. That is because it solves their burning need – they can now get what they want without fear.”
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Socitm
Consulting (
www.socitmconsulting.co.uk) provides strategic management and technology consultancy, project and programme management, benchmarking and interim management support to a large number of public and independent sector clients. Socitm Consulting helps its clients to develop and update transformational strategies, plan and deliver successful change programmes, build up in-house skill sets and monitor and manage performance effectively.
Accredit UK (
www.accredituk.com) is a service delivered by the NCC Ltd, a division of the National Computing Centre. Launched in 2008, its mission is to drive up standards in the ICT industry and provide ICT buyers with a shortlist of suppliers whose excellence has been assessed. Unlike most other standards, Accredit UK measures the whole of a business’ people, processes and performance across the five key stages of a business’ operations: management, direction, new business generation, delivery and operations, and customer relationships.
A core element in the continued development of Accredit UK is consultation. In addition to formal partners who work or have worked on the development of the Standard, the Advisory Board included: BIS, e-Skills UK, Intellect, InterForum, Microsoft, Technology Innovation Centre, West Midlands Regional Centre of Excellence. Other organisations which helped shape the Standard during development include: National Computing Centre, Advantage West Midlands, The National, B2B Centre. The West Midlands ICT Cluster, The Evaluation Centre, BSI, MaximITy, European Regional Development Fund, Warwickshire County Council and Simon Brandon Marketing.