My first meeting with Maikel Roolvink – on the recommendation of another IT specialist – took a completely different direction than I had expected. I was prepared for a sales pitch that I could think about calmly afterwards, but that’s not how it went at all! In no time, I found myself on the edge of my seat as Maikel asked all kinds of questions about the operations and ambitions of Praktijk Vaas. It turned into a truly in-depth conversation, after which Maikel outlined what we really needed in terms of cybersecurity. That genuine interest in our organization is characteristic of Brandaris.

My youth care practice is contracted by the municipality, which sets high standards for how we organize and secure everything. This includes using a secure platform for email and ensuring optimal protection of personal data. I don’t need to explain any of this to Maikel—he knows exactly what the municipality expects. That’s very important, because the municipal contract manager may show up unannounced to check whether everything is in order.

What also stands out to me about Brandaris is that they are not aiming to create a dependency. On the contrary, they encourage us to do things ourselves and to truly understand how everything works. It didn’t matter how often I asked for explanations; every question was answered patiently and in plain, easy-to-understand language. The staff have been included in this process as well. As a result, we never hesitate to speak up when we don’t understand something—and they always respond quickly.

We can also rely on Brandaris for other matters. We’re considering switching to a new client management system, and getting advice or sparring about what to look out for during the migration is also an option. Maikel even offered to join the discussion with the current provider, as IT jargon is practically a different language to me. Brandaris are great sparring partners—it's a cliché, but in this case it’s absolutely 100% true.