The Digital Marketplace Contenders, 8: Becrypt, London

In the latest in our series looking at small, promising new entrants to the UK public sector tech supply chain, we meet Cath Hackett, Head of Product Portfolio at security firm Becrypt

Tell us about your company and value proposition, then, please, Cath.

Becrypt has been supplying security products and services to Government, Defence and other security conscious sectors at the highest levels for 15 years. This puts us in a unique position of genuinely understanding the requirements of public sector organisations, giving us the ability to help them take advantage of the latest cloud and mobile technology, while maintaining appropriate security.

We have a strong track record of putting our customers first and knowing where the market is going so that we develop our technology accordingly. Our government-certified, innovative mobile security solutions and services enable public sector organisations to adopt new, more agile ways of working, enabling secure and rapid IT transformation, as well as cost effective secure remote access.

Why did you enter onto G-Cloud/The Digital Marketplace? What did you expect to get out of it? Did you?

Our encryption and data security products have been available through G-Cloud since its inception through our partners. However, with G-Cloud 7 we are now offering our security consulting services for the first time. With our security background and our security cleared people we are able to help government departments, local authorities and the wider public sector to develop and execute a practical security strategy, which supports the delivery of more cost effective services to citizens and provides more flexible working environments for staff.

While our consultancy services are used by government departments for security engineering on key projects, we wanted to offer these services to a broader range of public sector organisations. G-Cloud provides us with a mechanism to gain visibility of opportunities that, as an SME, we wouldn’t hear about any other way.

That’s the plan, let me get back to you this time next year, and I’ll tell you how it has gone!

Great. How did you find the process of applying?

The process was easier than expected; it didn’t take a lot of time or resources.

How have things been working out for you on the Marketplace?

As Becrypt products are an embedded part of Sentinel by SCC, which is SCC’s secure, multi-tenanted cloud solution, designed specifically for the public sector, the G-Cloud has been successful for us. Sentinel protects sensitive data to Official/Official Sensitive (CESG IL2 & IL3) security standards and was the first Pan-Government Accredited solution of its kind.

Based on your experience, do you have any top tips for other (smaller) suppliers on how to make the most of the G-Cloud opportunity?

Three things:

You must be sure that your value proposition is specific to Government, and you need to understand how public sector organisations would consume your products/services.

You need to select the right Lot (there are seven to choose from) where your products/services can really add value, to ensure that you reach the right audience.

Talk to your government/public sector customers to be sure that what you are offering is pertinent to them. Feedback from existing customers is invaluable.

Very useful, thanks! Finally, any other thoughts about what you see as the future for cloud as a delivery mechanism for UK public services?

Cloud is a key delivery mechanism for the government’s vision of Government as a Platform, which is aiming to provide shared digital systems, technology and processes on which to build cost effective, user-centric government services. G-Cloud and other initiatives like the Cyber Growth Partnership is an important part of engaging with innovative SMEs that will help to make that transformation happen. 

Thanks, Cath, and good luck on G-Cloud 7!

To find out more about this G-Cloud-7 Digital Contender, go here

We are looking for other companies entering the Digital Marketplace and would love to feature your experiences in this new on-going editorial series. Please get in touch with us here to kick start that process.

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