Statement of Applicability $($SoA$)-$ PebblePad:

$$ Control$/$Control Objective

$$ Applicable: Yes$/$No

$$ Justification based on calls in ABC Case Study, your personal experience, laws$/$regulations$,$

standards, academic papers Company History

ABC Technologies is the new name of ABC Printing. Paul Evans $($President$)$ and

Sally McCarty $($Executive Vice$-$President$)$ created ABC Printing in $2011$ at the end

of their university studies. The Yorkshire company saw rapid expansion. It had $253$

employees in $2016$ when Paul and Sally decided to diversify their activities by

venturing out into $3$D graphics printing. This activity, then emerging with the

development of information technologies, was supported by both senior executives

who saw in it the means to strike a balance between their traditional activities and

what they considered the future of the printing industry.

These longtime friends are enthusiasts of new technologies. They have always

known that the information technology sector had a great growth potential.

Conscious of the importance of information and technologies, Paul and Sally

seized an opportunity offered them in $2016$: A&B Technologies, a company that

developed and commercialised Customer Relationship Management $($CRM$)$

software, and that was located about a hundred meters from their premises, went

bankrupt. Since their printing and computer graphics activities generated cash

surpluses, they decided to buy out A&B Technologies. ABC Printing was then

renamed to ABC Technologies to display an image more in line with its new field

of activity. The merging of ABC Printing and A&B Technologies produced a

company with $567$ employees distributed as follows: $556$ employees in the printing

and $3$D graphics divisions, and $11$ employees in the CRM division.

The software developed by A&B Technologies facilitates the acquisition of

information, including customer data entry $($name$,$ contact information, availability,

recreation$).$ It allows a company to store, control and modify information, plan

tasks, annotate notifications as well as several other functions. Three products are

distributed: ABC Supreme $(3,995),$ ABC Pro $(495)$ and ABC $(295).$

ABC Technologies$$ head office is located in Bradford. This location combines the

printing, $3$D graphics printing and software development activities.

Following the growth of the company, another office was opened in Leeds in $2012.$

COMPANY HISTORY

$2$

Paul Evans decided to take charge of the Leeds office, where sales and services

are managed. Since these involve a strong need for managing customer relations,

he was the best candidate for the job thanks to his communication and negotiation

skills. Administration team was also located in Leeds.

Sally McCarty stayed in Bradford to manage software development, printing, $3$D

printing graphics, and IT services because of her technical competencies.

To finance the growth of the company, ABC Technologies concluded an

investment agreement of over $2$ million dollars with a capital investment fund. With

this agreement, investors insisted that ABC restructure the company governance

by having a formal Board of Directors and hiring an experienced CEO. Sabina

Senat was hired as CEO to manage all the firm$$s activities. Known for her

outspokenness and her direct actions, Mrs$.$ Senat was involved in the restructuring

of several start$-$ups.

Since the take$-$over of A&B Technologies, business is booming. The software

activity has made important sales thanks to various distribution channels which

include direct sales, indirect sales $($partnerships$),$ as well as recent web sales.

Unfortunately, the growth of the software activity has produced serious

management, organization and operation problems. These problems include the

loss of important information, the loss of several contracts, and more important

still, the loss in confidence of some customers. In addition, the number of new

competitors and similar products on the market has rapidly increased, and has

started to slow the growth of the company$$s software activity.

In light of these developments and to regain the confidence of their customers,

Sabina Senat, Paul Evans and Sally McCarty decided to implement the ISO$/$IEC

$27001$ standard and to get certified.

COMPANY HISTORY

$3$

ABC Technologies Facilities

Head Office $($Bradford$)$

All the employees have desktop computers connected through a network and

operating with Windows $10$ operating system. The network is connected to a

central file server. This server is used to store all relevant information, such as

orders sent by email in PDF format from the Leeds office, production records,

personnel data, and the information on the design of products.

Sales Office $($Leeds$)$

The Leeds office has the same configuration as the head office. The personnel

use desktop computers that operate with Windows $10.$ The network is also

connected to a central server, which is used to store c