Tech consultancy firm Gnosis actually benefited from the pandemic.

Established by Neil Lupsic and Corey Brunton two years before the social upheaval, it reflected on how rather than hinder the firm’s growth, the global health crisis propelled it forward.

“We had a lot of work because many people were moving to remote offices,” Mr Lupsic, the Gnosis chief executive, said. “We had to facilitate that. We had to help people who were working from home, and needed the ability to access systems remotely and securely.”

This month the firm is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

“We are performing extremely well in the Bermuda market,” said Mr Brunton, the chief operating officer. “Gnosis has established a strong reputation on the island as a managed service provider.”

Gnosis is now focused on hiring and development. The firm has 11 staff members at 99 Front Street in Hamilton including new hire, senior systems engineer Patrick Leyne, from Boston.

“We will be optimising client networks, and engaging with our clients on cybersecurity,” Mr Brunton said.

Mr Lupsic and Mr Brunton formed Gnosis to fill a gap in the Bermuda market.

“We felt there was a need for more proactive IT management services and less reactive ones,” Mr Lupsic said.

At the time, Mr Lupsic was chief technology officer at the Digicel Group, and Mr Brunton was an account manager at Applied Computer Technologies.

Always on the lookout for Bermudian talent, Mr Lupsic found Dominique Mayho working as a mechanic at the Winner’s Edge cycle shop on Front Street.

“I saw value in his attitude,” Mr Lupsic said. “He was looking for a change.”

Mr Mayho started doing desktop support for Gnosis 18 months ago.

“I didn’t know a thing when I started,” he said. “They trained me from the ground up.

“While I normally work with different clients, right now, I am seconded to Belco until the end of the year.”

Mr Mayho is studying for his certification in Microsoft Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-computing platform.

“It has been a really great opportunity to work with Gnosis,” he said. “Neil has created this culture in the company where everyone helps each other out.”

Gnosis clients are typically in insurance and reinsurance. But there are others, including professional offices for dentists and doctors.

Mr Brunton said: “We’re just here to support people who see value in what we do.”

Gnosis is particularly proud that it has its Soc2-Type 2 Certification, a measure of their data protection compliance. It means the company has demonstrated its commitment to data security and privacy and has proven controls.

By January 20, they hope to take the next step beyond that, by obtaining their ISO 27001 certification.

They are aware of only one other firm on the island that has this designation.

“It is a difficult thing to obtain,” Mr Lupsic said. “It shows that we have taken our compliance with industry benchmarks quite seriously.”

It is particularly important when their clients are audited. “Auditors often ask about the controls their third party vendors have in place,” he said. It also reassures clients about the quality of the advice Gnosis gives on security measures and awareness.