Striving to build a safer digital society. For Orange Cyberdefense, the mission is clear.
The company is the expert cybersecurity business unit within the Orange Group. And one of its most influential relationships in the UK is with Coventry Building Society. Having worked together for almost 10 years, the alliance has seen quite the evolution. Will Mardling, Account Director at Orange Cyberdefense, reveals the duo’s shared values are a considerable factor for the partnership’s longevity.
“The Society often talks about having a ‘Digital First, Human Always’ approach to the services that they deliver to their members,” reveals Mardling. “We like to think that we apply the same sort of approach to our services. We’re not just driven by technology and using it as a simple fix. We very much understand that there’s a human element in play here that is going to make a real difference for our customers, much in the same way that it makes a difference with the Society and the services that they deliver to their members.”
Dominic Trott, Director of Strategy and Alliances at Orange Cyberdefense, explains that despite being one of the largest global providers of Managed Security Services, Orange Cyberdefense has built a strong local presence.
“It means that while some of our competitors operating more broadly than security may seem higher profile; for a company like Coventry Building Society they might feel slightly removed from (and less of a priority for) a global systems integrator or ‘big four’ management consultant,” he reveals. “But our local subject matter experts dovetail with our global reach and delivery capability. We are local and present for our customers. It’s very much a partnership rather than a transactional relationship.”
Mardling adds that one of the biggest strengths of the partnership is how clear and straightforward the team within The Society is to work with. “We spend a lot of time with the technical teams which are the ‘boots on the ground’ but our relationship also extends through into the supplier management, procurement and finance teams,” he says. “It’s very clear to see that there’s a great culture, which is part of what makes working with the Society’s teams such as pleasure. We’re currently working on two very large programmes of work with them around SASE and Managed Detection & Response. Both of these programmes are aimed at delivering tangible business outcomes, as opposed to solely satisfying a list of technical requirements.”
One of the non-negotiables that the partnership needs to have is trust. According to Mardling, it is something that has been earned and developed over time rather than taken for granted and he stresses it is a key ingredient to success within Orange Cyberdefense. “Given the nature of the kind of projects that we work on with the Society, it’s paramount that they have confidence in our ability to deliver and confidence in our level of expertise and that it will ultimately be delivered to the highest standard,” says Mardling. “The building of that trust has been helped by how open, honest and transparent the Society has always been with us. That goes both ways. If there’s something that we can’t do for them, we’ll always be very open about that.”
Looking ahead to the future, there is little sign of the partnership slowing down. “We’d like to think that it will continue to be a beneficial partnership for both organisations,” explains Mardling. “Coventry Building Society is on a really exciting journey regarding expansion and digitalisation at present and it’s one that we are looking forward to supporting them on.”
Click here to read more about Coventry Building Society’s journey towards operational transformation, ESG leadership, and positioning procurement as a creator of social value and community engagement.
