Brief Overview

We are one of the UK’s leading independent cyber and information security specialists, with a unique approach to providing holistic security management solutions.

We take a joined-up approach to our work with clients nationwide across both the public and private sectors to implement best practice security policies, processes and procedures and understand security threats in order to address security risk.

We are a Crown Commercial Services Supplier through the G-Cloud Frameworks, the NHS SBS framework, as well as a Cyber Security Supplier to HM Government.

Our Approach

We pride ourselves on putting our clients first and believe in delivering consultancy in partnership with you not delivering consultancy ‘at’ you. Our collaborative approach is both consultative and facilitative and each solution is bespoke to your business needs and drivers.  We mentor you through the processes so that you can continue to maintain effective security practices as your business changes.

We believe in building long term partnerships with clients based on trust by working in an open and ethical way. In addition, our advice is completely vendor independent and unbiased.

What Makes Us Tick?

Here at Advent IM we are a different kind of security consultancy. One that was born out of the belief that there are better ways to secure information and other assets and that this, like business and life, will change constantly. That means we have to continually ask ourselves, “Is this the best possible way to achieve our security aims?”

To get to know us, you can look at our core values.  We thought long and hard about who we are as a team, as a client partner and to our industry. So our values, and the behaviours that feed them, go across all these areas. In other words, they are real and identifiable. We know it’s hard to define a culture, but we didn’t think that should stop us from trying.

We are lucky to have some of the cream of security talent. Their expertise in varied aspects of security planning, application and training/mentoring is phenomenal.  We are more than happy to offer opinion and comment on security events, because it is based on many years of experience and training. Take a look at our blog to find out what we have to say.

It’s a statement that we have been advocating for years but security really is everyone’s responsibility and for it to be effective everyone from the top down needs to be bought in. Not only do security disciplines need to be integrated as a business but also our approach to each other, our client partners and our industry needs to be too be too. Applying it in reality to a crucial business function brings widespread benefits to all.

We cherish our independence. Not only are we entirely product neutral and therefore genuinely unbiased and client partner focussed, but we are independent of thought. This means we understand tried and trusted methods and respect them; then try to find ways to improve; refine and disseminate them.

We use the word ‘partner’ a lot. That is because we have a rather different approach to consulting. We like to empower and mentor. That requires our consultants and our client partners to enter into a different kind of consultancy concept.  It is one that requires a trusting relationship and does not mean doing consultancy ‘at’ clients. We are part of our client partners’ teams and the number of long term clients we have and the confidence that they show in us, is testimony to the success of this approach. In real terms it means genuine support and understanding; transparency, honesty and integration into the client environment with their best possible outcome at heart. If you are considering working with us ask for testimonials. Our client partners will tell you in their own words why they choose to work with us time and time again.

Mike Gillespie, Managing Director

Our History

We began in 2002 as a small consultancy operating out of a single office in the heart of the Midlands. Over the years we have successfully grown the company organically and today have a highly specialised team for national delivery and support staff based in the West Midlands.

Over the years we have developed sound business practices which have resulted in consistently high levels of client satisfaction. We are also committed to continuous improvement through our ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 accreditations as we continue to grow.

Our Team

Our Consultants are recognised experts in their field and have extensive experience in delivering security solutions. They include NCSC Certified Professionals (CCP), ISO 27001 Lead Auditors, ISO 22301 Lead Auditors, PRINCE2 Practitioners, Home Office trained physical security assessors.

Our Consultants are also members of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec), British Computer Society (BCS) and The Security Institute (SyI). In addition, our Managing Director, Mike Gillespie, is the retired Director for Cyber Strategy and Research for the SyI and the Vice President of C3i global Select Committee for Cyber Security.