NRB

Main service(s)

NRB is a large Belgian IT service provider. The company focuses on 4 key areas: consultancy, software, infrastructure and cloud services and managed staffing.

As a large company, NRB is able to offer a wide range of cybersecurity services. Additionally, the company is able to support and cater to larger organisations and governments. These organisations often have a long sales cycle, a heavy procurement process and like to work with providers which have a proven ability to execute on larger projects.

In terms of security offering, NRB can truly cover a great range. I’ll provide a short overview in terms of subject matter and delivery methods. The aim is not to be exhaustive, but give a feel for the offering.

Subject matter

NRB’s coverage of the security domain is comprehensive. The idea is that customer needs can be (almost) fully supported by NRB. And in certain specialist areas, where knowledge is not in-house, NRB has the necessary contacts in place with the applicable subject matter experts.

Below is a short but more detailed overview of the security offering. Brace yourself for a couple of dense, security jargon filled paragraphs.

Broadly related to the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) domain, NRB can deliver subject matter expertise around various security and privacy regulations or concerns (ie: DORA, NIS2, GDPR, Business continuity…). NRB can provide expertise around supporting (security) frameworks, for example ISO 27001 and Cyber fundamentals.

Broadly related to the Identity and Access management (IAM) domain, NRB can deliver expertise or services around identity management (in various environments), CASB, governance and others.

Last but not least: broadly related to the security operations domain, NRB can offer services around offensive security, various forms of vulnerability management, SIEM/SOC offerings, services around backup and recovery and various preventive security measures (firewalling, DAST/SAST, hardening,...)

Suffice to say, this is a comprehensive security service catalogue.

Delivery methods

The main point of this section is to illustrate that whatever delivery model is needed by a customer, NRB should be able to facilitate it:

• Consulting: shorter term engagement where the deliverable is some form of report. This might be a (gap) assessment, troubleshooting a problem area or some form of (strategic or tactical) roadmap.
• Professional services: shorter term engagement where the deliverable is some form of working service or component. Such as installation or configuration of a security device.
• Staff augmentation: where someone from NRB augments the customer team for a longer period of time. This might be simply someone going to work for the customer for a while or even virtual roles such as DPO or CISO as a service.
• Managed service: where NRB has created a managed service around a certain aspect (such as SOC) and customers can consume that service.
• Outsourcing or co-sourcing: where NRB takes over (a part of) the customer operations.

As you can see, NRB offers both a broad range of services and a broad choice in delivery methods.

Key differentiators

Belgian company

Both the NRB shareholders and top management are local to Belgium. This is an important factor: customers can have (easier) access to top management, as opposed to international companies where decisions taken in other countries can affect you.

NRB also owns three data centers in Belgium.

In the current geopolitical context, the “local” factor is especially important for organisations with an extensive focus on either Belgium or the EU. Choosing a local partner makes things easier related to regulations and sovereignty concerns.

Ability to support large customers and governments

NRB has the required size, capacities to cater to large organisations. NRB has also built up considerable experience in the often complex, highly regulated and sometimes closed Belgian ecosystem.

NRB couples this with an understanding of the enterprise sales process, the ability to build up trust with potential customers and act as a partner. The result is an organisation able to play in the competitive arena of enterprise sales.

Future plans and direction

NRB’s strategy is to grow in two dimensions: first, by providing high-performing technological solutions and services that cover the complete life cycle and all aspects of an end-to-end ICT solution. Second, by verticalising the portfolio, which allows NRB to offer specialised solutions to segments of their target markets (ie: healthcare, the public sector, energy and utilities,...)

Note that NRB is not catering only to large companies or the public sector. While these groups are certainly in the target market, NRB also has a large footprint in the mid-size market, for example with its Computerland subsidiary.

Company history

NRB publishes a company history here: https://www.nrb.be/en/about/history