All essential process para­meters and per­formance specifi­cations of a pro­cure­ment are laid down in tender documents. The main ob­jectives are the efficient handling of an award pro­cedure in com­pliance with legal pro­visions and the cost-effective pro­cure­ment of exactly the required goods and services on the contractee's terms.

TENENTE offer the elaboration of tender documents for public clients, sector clients and private clients. De­pending on the given re­quirements, TENENTE can either prepare the complete set of tender docu­ments or only indi­vidual parts there­of.

Before issuing an invi­tation to tender, a con­tractee must have the con­tract value esti­mated by a competent person. The esti­mate of costs serves for a check whether a pro­cure­ment is covered by the available budget and it also de­termines the options for the type of award pro­cedure. Clarity about the ex­pected pro­cure­ment costs and operating ex­pendi­tures as well as about the timing of pay­ments is essential for success­ful project realisation. The com­pilation and analysis of costs can have an im­pact on the specifi­cations and scope of the pro­cure­ment and it can suggest the division of a pro­cure­ment into staggered phases.

In professional communications, costs are only to a very small extent caused by re­quire­ments for con­venience or by com­fort features. In most in­stances, costs rather arise from sensible and effective measures for in­creased availa­bility of the communications infra­structure or from a re­duction of the operational risk. An analysis of operating costs can also support a com­prehen­sible and sub­stantiated de­cision between the con­tribution of in-house labour and the purchase of services.

TENENTE offer the competent cal­culation of cost estimates. Our services range from rough budget cost esti­mates to detailed analyses of pro­cure­ment costs and operating ex­pendi­tures. We analyse the cost factors of a pro­cure­ment, explain the cost factors and compare the ad­vantages and dis­advantages of pro­cure­ment variants.

In the first place the execution of a pro­cure­ment procedure re­quires know­ledge of the applicable legal pro­visions. Within the legal frame­work, a con­tracting authority acts under ob­servance of ex­pediency and pro­portio­nality. In addition to ob­serving threshold values, dead­lines and the equal treat­ment of bidders, it always pays to con­duct an pro­cure­ment provcedure in a correct manner and in a con­sis­tent and in form of a com­prehensible pro­cess.

Starting with the selection of the most suitable type of award pro­cedure, a con­tracting authority bene­fits from clarity about all aspects of its own room for manoeuvre and about the pro­cedural actions to be taken in specific situations. It is im­portant to avoid mis­takes and to under­stand the con­sequences of one's own actions in all phases of the award pro­cedure. However, some con­tractees do not have the human re­sources to handle an award pro­cedure or do not have the ne­cessary ex­pertise avail­able with­in their own ranks.

TENENTE offer support in the execution of pro­cure­ment pro­cedures. Our range of services ex­tends from ad­visory support for a customer through to full re­sponsi­bility for the exe­cution of an award pro­cedure. Our customer is supported in the form of com­petent man­power and has an ex­pert con­sultant at his side in all phases of the award pro­cedure.

The quality of a tender is per­ceived as an indi­cator of a bidder's en­deavours to actually win a con­tract, as it indi­cates the quality of future order ful­fill­ment. In addition to self-evident aspects such as com­plete­ness of con­tent, it is parti­cularly im­portant that a tender reflects the con­tentual analysis of the object of the pro­cure­ment, clearly de­monstrates the plausi­bility of the offered solution and that it de­monstrates the bidder's comp­etence for meeting the technical, organi­sational, scheduling and other challenges. In addition, a tender should be clearly structured, attractively for­matted and have a co­herent appearance. Ex­planatory texts and annexes must have the right level of detail. For a bidder, it is essential that the tender price is cal­culated correctly.

A bidder's need for external support in the pre­paration of a bid can have a variety of causes. For example, the un­availa­bility of the necessary per­sonnel, the collision of several bids to be prepared in parallel or resource bottle­necks of any kind can jeopardise the timely pre­paration of a pro­mising bid. Some­times, technical ex­pertise on specific re­quire­ments of a tender item is not a­vailable to a bidder. Or a bidder may have in-depth technical ex­pertise, but little ex­perience with pro­cure­ment pro­cedures, their legal frame­work and the re­spective dead­lines, formal re­quirem­ents etc. In general, ex­perience shows that bid dead­lines, how­ever long they may be, are per­ceived as too short by bidders.

TENENTE offer a wide range of support in the pre­paration of tenders and in con­sulting bidders in award pro­cedures. Our range of services ex­tends from the pre­paration of indi­vidual parts of a bid, the com­pilation of various sub-parts into one bid, general ad­vice in connection with a bid or a bid strategy to the check of a price cal­culation and the manage­ment of the entire bidding pro­cess. It goes with­out saying that we can only support bidders if con­flicts of in­terest and any breach of con­fidentiality can be ruled out with certainty.

A needs analysis is the basis for the pro­fessional planning of a communi­cations system. This applies regard­less of whether an existing system is to be expanded resp. to be replaced or whether a com­pletely new communi­cations infra­structure must be put into place. Al­though very often simply switching to the latest communi­cations technology is seen in the fore­ground, in most instances the real communi­cation need goes beyond mapping existing communi­cation pro­cesses into modern techno­logy.

A needs analysis is an opportunity to deal with the current voice and data communi­cation needs in the own company - possibly after many years of operating a communi­cations system. Through creating aware­ness of the real communi­cation re­quire­ments a needs analysis is always an opportunity to deal with new possibili­ties in modern communi­cation techno­logies and to question which additional functions of new communi­cation techno­logies can be use­ful in the own enter­prise. After all, the own employees in­evitably get used to the in­adequacies of an existing system, come to terms with them and de­velop work­around solutions. Long-lived work­arounds are no longer per­ceived as such and are no longer questioned. Often the needs analysis for a communi­cation system also reveals a need for optimi­sation in com­pletely different areas and pro­cesses of a company.

TENENTE offer needs analyses for voice and data communi­cation systems. Our un­biased approach, without antici­pating de­cisions while always being a­ware of possible solutions, has proven it­self many times over. We focus the analysis on the essential parts of the communi­cation-relevant pro­cesses in the customer's organi­sation. We capture and analyse all relevant communi­cation pro­cesses and para­meters, how­ever, only in the necessary depth and we avoid wasting time on topics that have no relevance for a future communi­cation system. We recognise and re­spect the tried and tested. Our external per­spective is an ad­vantage, as we are not blind to the company. We also scrutinise long-established pro­cesses that may seem self-evident and un­changeable.

As a result of a needs analysis, all the information re­quired for meaning­ful planning is available in a structured form. On top of the pure bene­fit of docu­mented communi­cation re­quirements the know­ledge of a customer's operations, pro­cedures, key pro­cesses and localities is of con­siderable value for sub­sequent planning activities.

The aim of system de­sign is to create a system con­cept which meets the customer's communi­cation re­quire­ments best within the given boundary con­ditions and which is accepted by the customer. System de­sign is based on a con­crete de­finition of re­quire­ments and boundary con­ditions and, ideally, also on a survey of the existing infra­structure. System planning not only takes into account the technical para­meters of a communi­cations system, but also in­cludes operational aspects and the budgetary frame­work. In many cases, the result of a system de­sign is al­ready written down in the form of a re­quire­ments specifi­cation for a tender.

Following a customer’s pre­ference TENENTE carry out system de­sign with either more or with less involve­ment of the customer in the planning pro­cess. An inter­active way of working based on regular ex­change is a proven concept. The customer is always kept up to date on the status of the planning pro­cess and on the interim goals which have al­ready been achieved. More than that, he also has the opportunity to be kept in­formed of the under­lying technical issues on a regular basis. The quality of system planning certainly bene­fits from every inter­action with the customer. Regard­less of the intensity of the customer's involve­ment, the re­sponsibility for a timely and suitable planning result remains with TENENTE.

TENENTE illustrate planning results in textual de­scriptions and in specifi­cations as well as in the tried-and-tested format of a so-called 'world map'. This is the re­presen­tation of the entire system in the form of a block diagram, which displays the main locations, com­ponents and inter­faces and thus enables an over­all under­standing of a communi­cations system.

Radio network de­sign is the system planning for radio systems on the basis of a chosen radio techno­logy and of known coverage re­quire­ments. An essential task of radio network de­sign is the planning of radio sites, i.e. the selection of suitable sites and the specifi­cation of the essential site-specific para­meters and system com­ponents, in particular the antenna systems. Site selection and site specifi­cation serve the purpose of meeting the customer's operational communi­cation re­quire­ments in the best possible and most cost-efficient way.

When planning a radio network, the specific para­meters and characteristics of the se­lected radio techno­logy must be taken into account. Above all, this requires ex­pertise on the specifi­cations and actual per­for­mance para­meters of radio systems on the market, apart from marketing state­ments, laboratory measure­ments and data sheet promises. This applies all the more if there are high de­mands on the temporal and/or local availa­bility of a radio service. The possible dis­ruptive in­fluence of external systems must also be taken into account when planning the radio net­work, es­pecially when several radio services are operated at the same site.

TENENTE offer the pro­fessional and com­prehensive creation of a radio net­work design. We deter­mine the future radio locations and specify the operating para­meters of the radio equip­ment. In addition to the prin­cipal suitability of site candi­dates, site selection is usually based on the results of a radio pro­pagation simulation, on economic aspects (con­struction costs, operating costs, owner­ship), on the ex­perience with an ex­isting radio system and on the accessibility of sites in­de­pendent of seasonal re­strictions and weather con­ditions. In a second step, we plan the radio equip­ment for each radio site. The indi­vidual character­istics and specifi­cations of different radio tech­nolo­gies are taken into account, as are the re­quire­ments for re­liability (re­dundancy re­quire­ments) and the re­quire­ments re­garding the site-specific call handling capacity. If required, we carry out an inter­ference analysis in order to check whether there is a risk of inter­ference to the own radio system from other radio systems and whether the allocated fre­quencies could inter­fere with other radio services through inter­modulation.

Together with a partner, TENENTE plan antenna structures, in­cluding static calculations. We in­spect ex­isting antenna structures and plan radio towers, re­inforce­ments and mast adaptations.

Radio propagation simu­lations are usually a part of radio network planning. The simu­lations show a two-dimensional picture of the field strength in a radio coverage area and are calculated on the basis of a specific con­stellation of radio sites. The cal­culations are primarily used to identify which radio sites can be used to pro­vide satis­factory radio coverage meeting the customer's operational re­quire­ments. The simulations are based on digital ele­vation maps of the terrain and on data on the surf­ace texture with­in the calculation area.

The inter­pretation of radio pro­pagation simulation results must re­flect that they are probability state­ments (average values) for an area, however, they don't yield precise values for specific spots. Radio propa­gation simulations are there­fore particularly suitable for comparing realisation variants, e.g. for assess­ment of different radio site con­stellations or the effect of changes to antenna systems. Radio pro­pagation simulations can be verified and vali­dated by means of radio pro­pagation measure­ments, which significantly in­crease their re­spective meanining­ful­ness.

TENENTE offer the pro­fessional calculation of meaning­ful radio pro­pagation simulations. We base our calculations on extensive ex­pertise in the relevant radio and pro­pagation para­meters and achieve accurate results thanks to well con­sidered and realistic calculation para­meters. We cal­culate radio pro­pagation simu­lations for single radio sites or for a multi­site radio net­work. We ex­plain the simulation results to our customer and pre­sent the findings with regard to radio coverage and realisation variants.

Micrwave links are used in various appli­cations: as iso­lated links for the connection of two end­points, as stand-alone net­works ('back­bone') for meshing several sites or as a re­dundant ex­tension of wired net­works. The cost efficiency of ac­quisition and operation speaks just as much in favour of micro­wave links as the possibility of having an own inter­linking net­work at one’s command which meets the own re­quire­ments in terms of quality and availa­bility and without de­pendency on ex­ternal - commercially acting - net­work operators. The latter is parti­cularly important for operators of critical infra­structures.

TENENTE offer the planning of indi­vidual micro­wave links as well as the system planning of large-area meshed micro­wave net­works. Based on a detailed link budget for the res­pective data trans­mission rate and taking into account the re­quire­ments for link availa­bility, we plan all para­meters of the micro­wave end­points (micro­wave equip­ment and micro­wave dishes). In our calculations, we leverage ex­tensive ex­pertise on the relevant radio and propagation para­meters, including the link-specific weather influence. In this way we achieve re­liable results. Using digital terrain models, we ana­lyse the visibility con­ditions be­tween the end points and, if necessary, e­valuate the effect of obstacles or partially ob­structed Fresnel zones.

Blackouts differ from other crisis events by their long duration, their un­ex­pected occurrence with­out pre­vious warning and the large extent of the affected area. A large-scale, supra­regional outage of the power grid means that munici­palities have to cope with the crisis situation on their own, as there is hardly any help from out­side avail­able. Mayors have to ful­fil the role of the local head of operations. They have to di­rect and co­ordinate the disaster re­sponse. Black­out pre­vention is there­fore an im­portant part of a community's indi­vidual civil pro­tection planning.

Austrian civil defence associations re­commend that the population stock up on emergency supplies of water and food for a period of 14 days. It is ex­pected that the public power supply can be restored within up to three days. However, experts esti­mate that it may take well over a week, even up to two weeks, be­fore civil facilities are re­stored - in particular the communi­cation infra­structure, supply chains and access to civil services. Being the local points of contact for people seeking help, munici­palities have a re­sponsibility to re­main capable of acting for the full duration of the inci­dent and they are in charge of the ad­mini­strative actions for handling the crisis situation.

In crisis manage­ment, voice communi­cation between emergency re­sponse staff is of crucial im­portance. On the one hand, the community's emergency manage­ment team must be able to communi­cate with the de­centralised crisis teams, and on the other hand, the public safety organi­sations need to communi­cate with­in and across teams and organisations. Fail-safe communi­cation must be avail­able across the municipal area in order to provide - at least rudimentary - community services and for supporting self-help and neigh­bour­hood assistance, for operating in­formation points, assembly points and emergency shelters, for providing essential supplies to the population and for looking after people with special needs.

TENENTE offer the planning of communi­cation systems for the event of a black­out. We plan radio solutions that are com­pletely self-sufficient in every re­spect and which can be operated and used by a community in its own domain. De­pending on the given re­quire­ments, we plan radio coverage either community-wide or across communities. Our concepts in­clude municipal facilities (ad­mini­strative facilities, builder‘s yards, waste disposal sites etc.), as well as control centres of rescue and emergency response organi­sations, local energy suppliers, road ad­mini­strations, water supply and waste­water facilities, infra­structure operators and crisis-relevant companies. We develop practicable and easy-to-use solutions that do not over­stretch the community budget in terms of acquisition and operation. We plan not only the technical aspects of black­out communications, but also take care of organi­sational issues. Many years of working in an Austrian state warning centre and in an inter­national technical support unit have familiarised us with civil defence, staff work, situation manage­ment and emergency plans.

One of the basic pre­requisites of the success­ful im­plemen­tation of a pro­ject is the clear definition of the pro­ject ob­jective as well as of the boundary con­ditions within which the pro­ject must be carried out. As trivial this sounds, as important is it. However, it is very often taken too lightly. Again and again pro­jects run into trouble because the project objective is not clear to all team members or because there is a deviating under­standing of the pro­ject ob­jective and of key project para­meters (e.g. available resources) or be­cause pro­ject team members do not know resp. mis­judge their personal tasks, re­sponsibili­ties and own con­tributions.

TENENTE offer the pro­fessional specifi­cation of pro­ject definitions. This puts the customer in a position to clarify all important questions in advance, to approach the pro­ject in a target-oriented manner, taking into account all known limi­tations, obstacles and un­certainties and to complete the project smoothly under utilisation of the actually available re­sources.

TENENTE define objectives according to the so-called 'SMART' criteria: specific, measurable, assignable, reasonable and time-bound.

The task of a pro­ject manager is to en­sure that the pro­ject ob­jective is achieved with­in the specified time frame and without ex­ceeding the pro­ject budget.

TENENTE offer to act as a pro­ject manager for a variety of different pro­ject types. Regard­less of whether it is a de­velopment-, co­nstruction- or tender-project, our pro­ject manager en­sures success­ful completion of the pro­ject. We per­form all the tasks of a pro­ject manager, i.e. we manage re­sources, co­ordinate activities, communi­cate with pro­ject partners and en­sure communi­cation be­tween them. We react flexibly to changes, we chair meetings and we escalate when necessary. The customer is in­formed about the pro­ject status and pr­ogress on a regular basis, e.g. in the form of periodical structured re­porting, and he is always kept up to date on the current pro­gress, changes, risks, etc. for the ent­ire duration of the pro­ject.

TENENTE are also in a position to take over pro­jects which have al­ready been started or which even have al­ready run into trouble and to bring such pro­jects to success­ful com­pletion.

A project manager's need for technical or organi­sational support can have various causes. Often, in addition to managing a pro­ject, he or she also has to per­form other tasks with­in the company, which means that at times there simply is not enough time available to per­form pro­ject manag­ement tasks to the necessary extent. Some pro­ject managers have the necessary manage­ment skills for co­ordinating and leading a pro­ject, but are not sufficiently familiar with the technical pro­perties of the pro­ject ob­ject.

TENENTE offer professional pro­ject support tailored to indivi­dual needs, to the re­quired ex­tent and with the re­quired priority setting. Our services can be called off indivi­dually de­pending on the actual need. Our services range from the function of a pro­ject team member with a de­fined area of re­sponsibility to the technical support of a pro­ject manager or merely to sporadic consulting for a customer in the course of a project. When assigning sub­tasks, it is important to clearly define the ex­pected con­tribution and the re­sponsibilities.

Acceptances are important pro­ject mile­stones. Through acceptance, the customer formally and authorita­tively con­firms that the con­tractor has carried out the work in con­formance with the con­tract and that no or only minor de­ficiencies re­main. Acceptance is usually based on measure­ments, functional tests or other checks for proving the ab­sence of de­ficiencies. Com­pliance with technical specifi­cations or certain properties of the object of acceptance are de­monstrated and veri­fied in an ob­jective and com­prehen­sible manner. The re­quire­ment for a test pro­cedure which is mutually agreed upon by the customer and the con­tractor and for the formally correct exe­cution of an acceptance results from the trans­fer of owner­ship and risk, which is usually a con­sequence of acceptance. Also pay­ment plans for a pro­ject can be conditional on acceptances. In addition, an acceptance can be a pre­requisite for the start of a sub­sequent pro­ject phase.

TENENTE offer the planning, exe­cution and super­vision of tests and acceptances. We specify acceptance pro­cedures in­cluding the required test scope, attestations and test and measure­ment specifi­cations. If the con­tractor pro­poses a pro­cedure for acceptance testing, we check and revise it in the interest of a meaning­ful status assess­ment. We take part in the test exe­cution and monitor it. We clarify any un­clear issues to­gether with the con­tractor. If necessary, we demand im­provements and pur­sue the correction of de­ficiencies. We en­sure that acceptance tests are properly documented and recorded. We check and approve measure­ments, test and in­spection protocols as well as the documentation of acceptance tests. De­pending on the result, we re­commend our customer to either accept or to decline acceptance.

Only measurements provide certainty about the actual availa­bility, range and quality of a radio service and about the actual radio pro­pagation in a specific coverage area. While simulations and calculations pro­vide statistical information about the radio coverage across an area, measure­ments pro­vide in-depth knowledge of the actual radio coverage. Measure­ments can al­ready be part of the planning of a radio system or they can be carried out in order to check an existing radio service, e.g. for the pur­pose of ana­lysing radio anomalies. Since measure­ments also enable state­ments about the spot radio coverage at certain locations - e.g. operationally important locations - they are also suitable for de­tecting gaps in coverage and under-served areas.

In addition to the field strength level of a radio signal, the signal quality is also important for an assess­ment of radio coverage. The measurable para­meters for testing and analysing the quality of a radio service are e.g the 'signal to noise ratio', 'bit error rate' respectively 'message error rate', 'quality of service', 'perceived speech quality', etc., depending on the given radio technology.

TENENTE offer the com­petent exe­cution of field strength measure­ments. Our range of services covers the full range from planning, exe­cution and docu­mentation of measure­ments to data analysis and evaluation. We adapt measure­ment methods, measure­ment pro­cedures and measure­ment para­meters individually to specific problems and carry out measure­ment campaigns in such a way that they yield meaning­ful results. We are able to master even complex and tricky measure­ment tasks and to get to the bottom of non-common­place problems by means of measure­ments. The evaluation and analysis even of ex­tensive measure­ment data are among our strengths. We interpret the measure­ment results and pre­pare the presentation of the results in such a way that the key findings are shown clearly and con­cisely. If necessary, we pro­pose specific counter­measures that can be de­rived from measure­ment findings.

Checking an antenna system is one of the most im­portant tasks after its installation, during acceptance testing and in the course of regular service and main­tenance works. Un­professionally mounted connectors, damaged antennas, defective lightning pro­tection ele­ments and the like can cause part of the radio signal to be re­flected at dis­continuities, which can massively limit the range and per­formance of a radio site and can cause inter­ference with third-party systems. Regular and re­curring checks are important because some faults only become noticeable over time or can be caused by ageing resp. material fatigue after a long period of trouble-free operation.

TENENTE offer pro­fessional measure­ment of antenna systems in the form of installation checks, during site acceptance, in the course of main­tenance works or if there is a sus­pected fault, e.g. when radio users complain about a per­ceived change in radio coverage or about reduced quality of the radio service. We carry out measure­ments of the standing wave ratio (VSWR) in order to de­tect fault locations. Faults in the antenna path can be located, so that they can be quickly identified and removed.

Measure­ment means know­ledge. The demand for measure­ments can arise from various situations. Some­times it is about establishing facts in the sense of documenting a current state or the purpose of measurements is to track down sources of inter­ference or the focus is on the causes of observed mal­functions. Measure­ments often serve for getting to the bottom of problems. Another moti­vation for measure­ments can be the verifi­cation of assumptions, estimations or calculations. In all cases, correctly per­formed measure­ments provide certainty about facts.

The basic pre­requisites for the creation of meaning­ful measure­ment results are the clear definition of measure­ment ob­jectives, com­petent planning, the expert exe­cution of measure­ments and finally the intelligent analysis of the measure­ment results. Un­professionally con­ducted measure­ments and in­correctly inter­preted measure­ment data do more harm than good. They lead to false findings and mis­judge­ments - by the way: many con­spiracy theories are fed from the mis­inter­pretation of measure­ment results.

TENENTE offer the planning, exe­cution and e­valuation of measure­ments in electronics and communi­cations technology. We are experts in de­veloping a sensible measure­ment methodology de­pending on the given task and in carrying out valuable measure­ments in a pro­fessional manner. We ana­lyse and inter­pret measure­ment results and we pre­sent measure­ment findings in an intuitive form so that the key findings are clear also to lay­persons. We ex­plain the in­sights that can be de­rived from measure­ments to customers and we ad­vise on cor­rective actions on the basis of measure­ments. We have a basic range of measuring equip­ment at our dis­posal. If re­quired, we can hire additional measuring equip­ment or we use measuring equip­ment pro­vided by the customer.

Information security is of importance for every company and every organisation, regard­less of size, turn­over and type of business and regard­less of whether it is a private company, a public authority or an institution of public interest. The ultimate ob­jective of information security is to maintain the con­fiden­tiality, integrity and availa­bility of information. The term 'information' in the sense of meaning­ful data is much broader than the term 'data'. Measures for controlling information security are also referred to as 'controls' and can be divided into the categories of organi­sational controls, personal controls, physical controls (buildings) and techno­logical controls (IT systems and IT com­ponents). The entirety of all information security measures is referred to as the ISMS - Information Security Manage­ment System.

TENENTE offer the planning, im­plementation, im­provement and auditing of information security controls. Our service port­folio ranges from consulting an enterprise on the introduction of an ISMS over auditing the operational effective­ness of an existing ISMS to the complete design of a new ISMS. We under­stand information security as a continuous pro­cess and not as a one-off, isolated action. We base our information security measures on a systematic risk assess­ment (please refer to service category 'Risk management') and we take technical and non-technical aspects of information security into account. With regard to the information security con­trols, we are guided by the ISO 27002 catalog or we model the relevant assets of an enter­prise using the BSI building blocks (BSI - Bundes­amt für Sicher­heit in der Informations­technik, i.e. German Federal Office for Information Security). We deal with each ISMS indi­vidually in the context of the key busi­ness activities, organisational structure and values of the re­spective company. This enables us to develop efficient and resource-saving solutions with focus and a sense of proportion that owe sub­stantial. Our information security con­trols pro­vide tangible value for the company and are drawn up in such a way that they can actually be lived by employees in their dayly work. The early, cleverly managed and correctly dosed involve­ment of staff creates visibility from the out­set and sub­sequently in­creases the acceptance of newly intro­duced measures as well as the willing­ness of everyone to partici­pate in main­taining a high level of information security.

Alessandro Friedreich is an ISMS Manager in accordance with ISO 27001, certified by TÜV Austria (entry in the TÜV certificate data­base www.tuv.at/certifications/?lang=en). ISO 27001, as part of a suite of information security standards, is the leading inter­national standard for information security manage­ment systems (ISMS). It provides generally applicable guide­lines for design, im­plemen­tation, oper­ation and monitoring of an ISMS. ISO 27001 speci­fies a holistic and risk-based approach and focuses on the continuous improve­ment of information security controls. The standard defines a process-oriented approach for addressing the diversity and com­plexity of threats in a generic manner.

Basically, a risk exists where a company asset ex­hibits a vulnera­bility while at the same time there is also a threat that exploits this vulnera­bility. A company's interest in low risk in its core operational areas is con­trasted by a very diverse, barely tangible and constantly changing threat situation. E.g. as new vulnera­bilities of IT-systems become known, they are quickly exploited with criminal energy. Attack vectors are adapted to new attack surfaces in a very shorttime.

The task of risk manage­ment is to identify, analyse and classify existing risks and to manage them appropriately. Risk manage­ment there­fore serves the purpose to avoid damaging events and to strengthen the robust­ness and resilience of a company in a systematic and prioritised approach, based on the factual urgency as identi­fied in an ob­jective manner. The level of a risk is de­termined by the proba­bility of occurrence of a damage event in combination with the potential severity of damage. Damage is not only assessed in terms of its financial impact, but also includes - among other things - adverse effects on personal safety and reputation as well as possible breaches of contract or the law.

TENENTE offer risk manage­ment in accordance with ISO 27005. Based on the operational pro­cesses and their significance for business operations, we identify the relevant assets. We de­termine their individual need for protection and identify the existing vulnera­bilities. We compare the latter with the specific threats they are ex­posing to. We de­termine the existing risks and their level and propose measures to deal with them (avoidance, reduction, transfer or acceptance of the risk). We prioritise the measures according to the level of the identified risks

The fundamental necessity of operational continuity arises from the vital interest of every company in self-de­termined and as un­disturbed as possible business operations. The normal operation of a company can be impaired by incidents of external or internal origin. The umbrella term 'security incident' covers all events that impair business continuity. Depending on the severity and duration of an event, it is re­ferred to as a 'problem', 'incident', 'emergency' or 'crisis'.

The objective of business continuity manage­ment is to establish effective pro­cesses for detection, re­sponse to and management of security inci­dents in order to ensure the rapid re­sumption of regular operational pro­cesses in the event of a security incident. Addressing the issue in itself is of enormous value to a company. The major benefits are the pre­pared­ness for security incidents, the existence of a concept for im­plementing remedial measures, clearly defined responsi­bilities and pro­cesses as well as the basic aware­ness-raising with­in the organi­sation. When a security event occurs, only the prepared pro­cesses need to be followed, however, the coping strategy it­self doesn't need to be worked out in the stress situation. Leveraging signifi­cant financial resources is rarely necessary, but being un­prepared can result in high costs. However, it is still possible to come across managers who are unaware of the need for business continuity manage­ment and who in­dulge in the deceptive hope that security incidents will not affect their own company.

TENENTE offer consulting and planning services to ensure the least possible dis­ruption to business continuity in the event of a security incident. We include human causes, technical causes, attacks and forces of nature as triggers of security inci­dents in a manage­ment con­cept. We pre­pare our customers for dealing with security problems, security incidents and crises and work with them to de­velop technical and organisational measures for security incident manage­ment. The basis of our business continuity con­cept is an exami­nation of the indi­vidual operational pro­cesses of each customer and the analysis of dependencies and inter­relation­ships. The ob­jectives are to restore normal operations as quickly as possible, to prevent the ex­pansion of damage and to limit the amount of the damage. As busi­ness continuity manage­ment must be adapted to the specific company on a very individual basis, we provide our services in close consultation with the customer.

On top of the basic re­quire­ment for information security in the inter­est of the own business con­tinuity and a good repu­tation, some companies also have to deal with re­quire­ments from business partners, legal regulations or an obligation by official order to comply with the NIS Directive.

The NIS Act requests the intro­duction of 'suitable and pro­portio­nate technical and organisational safety pre­cautions' for dealing with risks in an appropriate manner. The im­plemen­tation of each security measure must, as far as possible, be carried out on the basis of a risk analysis. Mandatory security measures to ensure network and information-system security are laid down in the NIS Directive. For the practical im­plemen­tation the NIS Act explicitly refers to the appropriate­ness of the security measures by requiring: 'These must take into account the state of the art and be appropriate to the risk that can be identi­fied with reasonable effort.' In practice, however, it becomes apparent that in the course of official external NIS examinations (audits) all companies are re­quested to implement the same set of specific security measures.

TENENTE support organisations and companies in implementing the legal re­quire­ments of the NIS Act and the NIS Directive. We pro­vide support in the definition and im­plemen­tation of technical and organisational security measures and we pre­pare a company for an external audit by a Qualified Body.