PCI Consulting Australia: Providing Information Security Assessment & Advisory Services

An increasing emphasis on information security is a necessity for businesses world wide. Whilst many companies maintain a focus on technological solutions to ensuredata security, increasingly the coordination of personnel and processes is recognized as being of equal importance in the avoidance of serious data breaches.

Achieving compliance with the PCI DSS is a reliable and strong security measure for companies that process card payments. Even for those who do not, the PCI standard provides a sound framework for information security which many businesses have decided to adopt. To the uninitiated in information security, understanding and interpreting the PCI DSS can prove to be a costly and resource draining exercise. Receiving industry expert advice can be much more productive than internally pouring through the requirements. This is where PCI Consulting Australia comes into the picture.

Established in 2014, PCI Consulting Australia has enjoyed significant growth since its inception as a QSA firm. It prides itself in offering cost effective, pragmatic solutions that allow companies to implement the PCI standard within existing compliance frameworks.

PCI Consulting Australia’s clientele ranges from payment gateways to healthcare funds, insurance companies, application developers and technology providers. It also has an increasing presence in the not-for-profit sector, offering a discounted rate to these entities. The company client base is a broad mix of clients ranging from the small to medium and large enterprises.

Managing Director of PCI Consulting Australia, Brent Loughton says, “The growth we have sustained, particularly in the last 6 months has been pleasing and also greater than anticipated.” “Dealing with multiple entities in the payments’ space has helped our growth enormously.

Many of these entities have clients who also have PCI obligations and require assistance in their own right. Referrals from our existing clients has clearly been the secret to our growth. It’s a feather in our cap that our clients are prepared to refer us in that respect. Hopefully that means we’re doing something right!”PCI Consulting Australia has deliberately differentiated itself from other firms by offering professional services only. Unlike many other QSA firms, PCI Consulting Australia does not sell products. Instead, it focuses on security assessment, advisory services, and penetration testing.

“Not offering products might seem strange but it means we recommend solutions 100% in the best interests of clients. We’re well aware of many products in the marketplace and we’ll suggest the ones that best suit budget, operational and compliance requirements of our clients. I believe our clients appreciate our honesty rather than pushing products down their throats,” Mr. Loughton says.

PCI Consulting Australia has a professional yet personal client focused approach and strongly believes in the building of lasting partnerships with its clients. Achieving PCI compliance for enterprises not only ensures the security of sensitive client information but also helps enhance a company’s image and reputation. In this specialist industry, having an assessor who will work with you rather than just assessing is integral. Whilst PCI Consulting Australia itself is young, its assessors all possess over 7 years’ experience in payment card compliance.

“To successfully be a QSA you need to be a well-rounded individual. Technical expertise is not enough. If you cannot run a project and communicate with your clients, then you’re going to be ineffective no matter the depth of your technical knowledge.”

“Scalability has also been important. With increased demand, we’ve been able to recruit internal resources accordingly and continue to build,” says Mr. Loughton.

Today, PCI Consulting Australia has clientele in 5 Australian states and has also ventured to Malaysia for an advisory assessment.

“We see Asia as a significant growth opportunity in the near future. We know demand exists in the region so we’re looking at strategies now,” Mr. Loughton explains, “The future’s exciting!”