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Every aspect of Meantime’s business that isn’t coding or design or similarly technical is taken care of by office manager Hannelie. She’s the one that makes sure things run smoothly, people get paid and the roof doesn’t come crumbling down around our ears. She’s also responsible for ensuring that what gets done, gets done properly, and to that end is in charge of our quest for ISO standards along with business and systems analyst Martin.

We're currently working towards two global quality standard levels: ISO 27001 and ISO 9000. ISO 27001 covers data security and information storage, while ISO 9000 regulates the control of business systems.

Hannelie explains the basics behind each, and why it’s so important for Meantime to have them.

"As an IT company we obviously store a lot of information and data; our own and that of our clients. As we’ve grown, both in terms of our business and the type of clients we work with, it’s become more important for us to achieve the ISO 27001 standard. Although there are only around 500 companies in the US and the same number in the UK who have achieved this standard, more and more companies are demanding it of their IT providers.

"We’re very close to the Energy Coast, home to a concentrated number of nuclear and energy businesses, and they all require it as it’s positive proof that a software house takes data security - and all that involves - seriously. Businesses working in such security-conscious environments recognise the importance of achieving certification, and it’s important for us as a company to be able to demonstrate and certify the high standards we achieve.

"Since Meantime began operating, our ethos has always been to work to the highest possible standard. As colleagues, we all share that view and we’d like to think that our clients have learnt that about us, too.

"The ISO 27001 relates to how we keep data and information secure, so covers things like server security, how we move data and code around, where we keep it, how we keep it. We’ve always been stringent with security and the ISO standards will certify that.

"The ISO 9000 is more of a business and operating systems standard which covers processes and quality control. Each of the standards requires a great deal of evidence, tracking, compliance and auditing, and while we’re operating at that level anyway it will take time to certify every element of it. We’ll be independently audited on a regular basis, and hope to be fully certified within around 12 months, perhaps less for the ISO 9000."