Business magazine BRW has named independent information security firm CQR Consulting as one of Australia’s 100 fastest-growing start-up companies – one of only two South Australian companies on the list.

In its Fast Starters edition, BRW reported that CQR Consulting was one of 23 information technology companies on the list of fast-growing start-up companies. This is the second year in succession that CQR Consulting has been included in this list.

Demand for information security services nationally and internationally has seen the Adelaide-based company surge in growth, requiring a trebling of the floor space for its head office. With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, the three-year-old company now employs 22 people, with several positions still vacant. To accommodate new recruits, CQR Consulting’s Adelaide office has increased three-fold in size – expanding from 140sq m to 420sq m.

CQR Consulting managing director David Simpson said the strongest demand was for services relating to policy and governance frameworks. “There’s been a big switch in the past six months,” he said. “The market has moved from being technology-driven to more results-based. Senior executives recognise that security has got better for their organisations, but it has not improved fast enough.

The three pillars of information security are Technology & Tools; People and Processes. Organisations recognise they are falling down in the People and Processes areas, so they outsource that activity. The strong demand is because developing policy and governance frameworks leads on to implementing compliance programs and user awareness programs. As a result, for CQR, smaller projects are turning into much bigger projects.”

CQR Consulting delivers independent information security services, without the need to sell computer hardware, software or other technology services. The Australian-owned company provides an “honest broker” for organisations often caught between the competing claims of incumbent vendors. CQR Consulting is winning business throughout Australia as well as undertaking engagements in Asia, Europe and the United States. During the past four months, the company has recruited four new employees to its head office.

Mr. Simpson said many corporations struggled to retain an overview of their security requirements. “They increasingly find it hard to see the big picture,” he said. “One organisation has more than 170 people in its information security area: However these are specialist people with specialist skills in specialist jobs. No one has a ‘helicopter view’.

Independent companies such as CQR Consulting play an important role as external perspective that compares an organisation’s information security policies and processes with best-practice both nationally and internationally.”

For more information about CQR Consulting, visit www.cqrconsulting.com . For media assistance, call John Harris at Impress Media Australia on (08) 8431 4000.