How High-Growth SaaS Cloud Accounting Organisation AccountsIQ Scaled its Security with Transparity SOC

To support rapid growth and meet the highest security standards, SaaS cloud accounting provider AccountsIQ turned to Transparity for expert 24/7 cyber protection.

Since onboarding to our SOC, they’ve seen a 38% increase in Microsoft 365 Secure Score, 46% fewer security alerts, and zero critical vulnerabilities, all with a 100% SLA performance. With proactive, around-the-clock support in place, the team now has total peace of mind and more time to focus on what they do best: developing a market-leading product.

46%

decrease in security alerts

Zero

Priority 1 alerts

38%

Improvement in M365 Secure Score

We’ve worked with a lot of partners in our 20 years. You know a good one when you see it, and Transparity are very good. The team listen, they’re responsive and the quality of technical expertise is really high. I really enjoy working with Transparity, we get access to expertise and capabilities we wouldn’t find anywhere else and I’ve already recommended them to others.

Gavin McGahey
CTO AccountsIQ

The Challenge

As a rapidly growing SaaS company, AccountsIQ needed a partner who could help them scale securely without slowing down their core mission of developing and enhancing their cloud-based accounting platform.

With thousands of databases across their varied client portfolio, all hosted in partnership with Transparity in Azure, cyber security was a top priority for the team at AccountsIQ.

“From our customers’ point of view, security is absolutely paramount. We’re an ISO 27001-accredited organisation, and to meet these requirements we have to maintain robust security controls and be able to prove these audits.” Gavin McGahey, CTO at AccountsIQ

The team at AccountsIQ made the strategic decision to look for a trusted partner to add expert cyber security support, rather than building out an extensive in-house team. Based in Dublin, the company faced a tight talent market for cybersecurity and infrastructure roles. More importantly, the leadership wanted to focus all internal energy on product innovation, not infrastructure firefighting.

To support this vision, AccountsIQ needed a trusted partner who could:

Manage and monitor their production Azure environment 24/7
Deliver robust, proactive cybersecurity services
Provide expert support for internal IT and endpoint management
Grow with them as their needs evolved

After working with us on their Azure infrastructure and a rigorous tender process involving a range of international MSPs, AccountsIQ opted to partner with Transparity for their 24/7 SOC.

The Solution

We kicked off our security partnership with AccountsIQ, taking the business through our comprehensive onboarding process and hardening their security posture along the way. The team selected our MXDR service, providing end-to-end security management around the clock.

“Transparity provides that extra layer of security on top of making sure the servers are up and running. Everything is properly resourced and monitored. That peace of mind is incredibly important for us.” Gavin McGahey, CTO at AccountsIQ

Included in the Managed Extended Detection & Response (MXDR) service AccountsIQ rely on Transparity to provide:

24/7 monitoring and support
Vulnerability management and threat detection
Regular Tenable Nessus scans
Continuous alignment with our Secure by Design blueprints
Endpoint protection and device management
Threat management and patching
Helpdesk support
Ongoing security posture hardening

The Outcome

Since onboarding to our SOC, AccountsIQ have seen significant improvements in their security posture as well as some vital, unquantifiable benefits.

In numbers

Through continuous security posture hardening, patching and monitoring the team have seen a significant increase in their M365 secure score, improving by 38% in the last year alone. This uplift reflects a stronger security baseline across identity, device, and information protection, vital for a cloud-first SaaS business handling financial data at scale.

They’ve also seen a dramatic reduction in security noise and risk, with our SOC driving:

A 46% decrease in security alerts
Zero priority 1 alerts
Zero critical external vulnerabilities

These improvements all reflect the strength of the underlying security controls and our proactive 24/7 response.

Plus, we reliably deliver on service expectations giving the team at AccountsIQ peace of mind that their security is in hand. Our SOC have delivered on 100% of their Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Unquantifiable, but vital

In addition to significant, quantifiable improvements in AccountsIQ’s security posture, there have been some significant benefits to the business that go beyond simple reporting.

AccountsIQ’s number one priority is providing an exceptional service to its customers. As a result, the team needs to be laser focused on maintaining exceptional standards, including ISO 27001 accreditation, and improving the core product offering.

As a result of partnering with Transparity for their SOC, AccountsIQ have been able to sink their efforts into innovating and developing their SaaS cloud accounting platform. With peace of mind that their security is in hand, the team have driven substantial growth at an impressive 35% annually. Rather than staying up at night, worrying about a cyber attack, the technical team can do what they do best, enabling growth in both customer numbers and loyalty.

About Accounts IQ

AccountsIQ are growing quickly, offering finance teams the automation, insights and time savings they need to get the job done. As a SaaS cloud accounting business, Accounts IQ service over 1,000 often multi-entity customers around the world, hosting thousands of individual databases. As a result, cyber security is absolutely paramount for the business and its customers.