According to RedTie, there has been a growing need for cloud-based service providers to have the standard for a number of years.

Operations director Ben Thomson said: "This project started nearly two years ago when we identified that operating as a cloud-based service provider meant that data security was increasingly becoming a requirement for the end users of our platform.

"This was made especially clear when one government-owned customer of RedTie advised that it was going to be a requirement that all of their suppliers who store data on their behalf would have to have this standard."

He added that it was important to secure ISO 27001 from a UKAS-accredited certification company, such as the BSI, due to concerns over the validity of ISO 27001 certificates from companies that have not been accredited by an internationally recognised body.

"RedTie has done it the right way and it is important that customers don't just take the fact that a company has ISO 27001 at face value," said Thomson. "They should ask to see who performed the certification and ensure that the company who certified them is on one of the internationally recognised bodies lists."