The South West Cyber Resilience Centre (SWCRC) is a not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to making South West businesses more cyber resilient. Funded by the Home Office and led by serving police officers, they are committed to making the South West a safer place and helping to boost economic prosperity by improving organisations’ cyber infrastructure and processes to prevent cyber crime.
Through their free membership programme, the SWCRC act as a trusted company to SMEs and charities in Devon, Cornwall, Avon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, by providing guidance on cyber security as well as tools and support to help businesses including a full system health check at a heavily-reduced rate.
The South West Business Council has been working with the SWCRC more-or-less since the latter’s inception. SWBC CEO Paul Coles is a member of its advisory group.
When the fully-funded organisation started in October 2020, the SWBC were able to provide valuable insight into the current cyber security needs of the region, helping the group understand the specific concerns of businesses.
Through an initial consultation, the SWBC utilised their industry expertise and connections to discover the cyber challenges prevalent in the region’s tourism industry, to help the SWCRC effectively target specific support to regional tourism providers. Through the council’s extensive network and reach, they were also able to introduce the SWCRC to relevant organisations who could benefit from their cyber security services.
With the support of the SWBC, the Cyber Resilience Centre ran a successful webinar to highlight their mission to make the South West cyber-secure, which the council helped to promote and recruit attendees for using their membership database and key contacts.
As a result, the group effectively raised awareness of the tools and support available, and have since gained significant business opportunities. The SWBC has also helped introduce the group to organisations who required their services, leading to effective ongoing partnerships and an increase in their customer base.
Mark Moore, Director of the South West Cyber Resilience Centre said: “The first thing that the South West Business Council brings us is a huge amount of credibility; people instantly recognise that we are a genuine and trusted organisation when they learn about our affiliation.
“Secondly, their knowledge and expertise is unrivalled. We trust implicitly that they understand their business community and the advice and insight they give us is genuinely consulted, considered and meaningful.
“Finally, their connections and network is amazing, and has opened a number of doors for us; helping us grow, expand and learn. As an organisation, they are not about making money or providing an impersonal service. It’s clear to us that they share our ambition to do the right thing for the region, help others and make a positive impact.
“It’s a pleasure working alongside Paul and the SWBC team and we look forward to seeing where our partnership takes us in the coming months.”
Paul Coles, CEO of the South West Business Council, said: “We are proud to support the South West Cyber Resilience Centre as they work hard to make our community feel safer and protect them against cyber crime.
“Their goals align with our core values to safeguard and strengthen South West businesses to support the regional economy. It’s been fantastic to watch the group grow and acquire new business and see how our guidance and access to insight and connections has brought real value to their organisation.”
To find out more about how the South West Business Council can support your organisation’s ambitions, and to enquire about our membership packages, please visit: www.southwestbusinesscouncil.co.uk/join-us/membership-pack-services.
To find out more about the South West Cyber Resilience Centre and to sign up to their free membership, please visit: www.swcrc.co.uk
