BAO, AFNOR's insider tip for finding a standards expert

<p> Tu ne connaîtrais pas quelqu’un qui soit pointu en 27001 ? </q> Cette question, vous l’avez peut-être posée, à un collègue ou à votre carnet d’adresses pro, si, craignant une cyberattaque, vous avez l’intention de déployer un système de management de la sécurité de l’information basé sur cette norme volontaire ISO. Comme pour d’autres sujets (qualité, environnement, santé et sécurité au travail, RSE, etc.), on le conçoit : difficile de trouver des gens qui maîtrisent tout ce qui a trait aux normes. Eh bien, nous avons certainement la personne qu’il vous faut. Et géographiquement proche, en plus !

The AFNOR Group launches BAO

The AFNOR group is launching BAO, which stands for "bouche-à-oreille" (word of mouth), an intermediary service that allows you to quickly find the freelance standards expert your project needs. Whether it's a one-off assignment lasting a day or longer-term support, we will find you the right person. "Our experts are well-versed in standards (ISO/IEC 27001 in our example, but also many others) and are pragmatic professionals. They have extensive field experience and know how to adapt to the context of the organization," explains Sophie Sala, head of the BAO department for the AFNOR group, who designed, tested, and is now rolling out the 2023 offering as an intrapreneur.

From identifying the best expert to billing

The group leverages its reputation as a trusted third party, thanks to its role as a standardizer, trainer, and certifier, to find you highly skilled partners. And it goes all the way: "We take care of the entire process, from research to contracting and billing," adds Sophie Sala. But in what specific cases should you call on BAO?

• To carry out an organizational diagnosis, an internal audit, or a mock audit to ensure that you are on the right track for certification. Note: in accordance with ethical rules, our expert cannot carry out the certification audit themselves.
• To support you in an improvement process with or without certification objectives, coach a new employee as they take up their position.
• To strengthen a team: in the event of an employee's prolonged absence, to start a project while waiting for recruitment, to free up time for a new project.

Because standards are a matter for professionals, BAO is the solution for anyone who needs a professional right away. Judge for yourself with this testimonial from Sébastien, director of a software publisher in Toulouse: "As the security of our customers' data is paramount, and because we wanted to reassure them, we decided to obtain ISO/IEC 27001 certification. Beforehand, the auditor recommended that we prepare with the help of an expert. Philippe, the expert we were put in touch with through BAO, had a very methodical and structured approach. This enabled us to make good progress in our efforts and be ready for the audit this summer," he says.

BAO will therefore save you time in two ways: by avoiding the need to become an expert yourself, since you can't become an expert overnight, and by avoiding the step of sorting through profiles, since we do the matching for you. Meanwhile, you can focus on what really matters! A tool that fits perfectly with the new forms of collaborative work that are popular in companies today.