At 360 Assurance we know that Information Technology is fundamental to delivering your business success. In addition to your use of technology, it is also essential that your data is of high quality, and that your reporting and use of data is effective to support business planning and decision making.

Our information team provides a wide range of data and information services. This page sets out what we can offer, and how to contact us to find out more.

Our services

Below are lists of areas/topics we have experience of reviewing. This is not exhaustive and we tailor all work to meet your needs, reflecting whether you are looking for some supportive work as you develop or undertake change or an audit offering an independent assurance opinion.

Cyber Security: Organisations face a constant threat from cyber criminals. It is essential that robust arrangements are designed and maintained covering people, processes and technology. We have many years’ experience supporting our clients in developing and assessing cyber-security arrangements to minimise their threat exposure. Our experience and support covers areas including:

• Training: we have supported organisations to develop training and awareness materials, and have delivered awareness training to staff. In particular our training to senior staff and Boards/ Governing Bodies are designed to raise awareness of the specific risks faced by senior individuals, for example from targeted (spear phishing/ whaling) attacks.
• Phishing: we provide mock phishing campaigns, targeting cohorts of staff to help organisations understand the level of susceptibility across the workforce. Phishing attacks from cyber criminals pose an ongoing and substantial threat to all organisations; understanding the level of awareness across the workforce supports organisations in tailoring training to drive down the level of susceptibility.
• Cyber monitoring and reporting: technology provides great protection against threats from cyber-criminals, but is only truly effective when appropriate resources are in place to monitor and respond to the information generated from security systems. We can help organisations to assess whether the right systems and processes are in place to monitor the risk exposure across infrastructure, their IT assets and their users. Our constructive review and challenge will also check if appropriate actions are being taken in response to the information presented, ensuring that cyber-risk exposure is constantly minimised.

Data Security & Protection Toolkit: Organisations that have access to health service networks and information are required to complete a Data Security and Protection Toolkit. Many organisations are required to have their toolkit submission audited; even where this is not mandated, it is good practice to periodically seek independent audit, to provide independent scrutiny and rigout that complements the self-assessment process.

IMT Services: The effectiveness of an IMT service can impact on the effectiveness of an entire organisation. Whether provided by an in-house department, or contracted in, we offer a wide range of services to assess the effectiveness of the IMT service. Where your services are contracted in, we can review the scope of your contracts/ SLAs, together with the levels of compliance with requirements. Other reviews include IT Asset procurement and management; Service Desk and user support; IT user account management; business continuity and backup/ restore arrangements.

Data Quality: Good governance and decision making relies on good data. Our reviews assess the governance arrangements in place to ensure that data is accurate and reliable. We can review kite-mark schemes in place, or support organisations in developing kite-mark schemes so that users of data understand the confidence levels in the quality of data. Our detailed reviews also examine samples of records, providing assurance over the quality of data – validated back to supporting/ prime records – modelled against accuracy, validity, reliability, timeliness, relevance and completeness.

Data Analysis: Our data specialists are skilled in analysing data, in particular large and complex data sets, using our specialist Arbutus Analyser software. We also recognise the importance of presenting information so that the results of our analysis are meaningful. Our visualisation and presentation of information ensures that complex analysis of data is translated into clear messages that support officers in deciding what actions to take, and also understanding/ measuring the impact arising from those decisions.

If you would like further details regarding any of the services available from the Information team, please contact Tom Watson (07810467036, tom.watson8@nhs.net).