Net-Defence is celebrating ten years in business with a significant industry honour, recognising the company’s transformation from a telecommunications provider into one of the North East’s leading cyber security and managed IT specialists.
The accolade, presented by the Tyne and Wear Business Awards UK, recognises Net-Defence’s continued growth, technical excellence and commitment to helping organisations strengthen their cyber resilience against an increasingly complex threat landscape.
The recognition comes during a milestone year for the business as it marks ten years as Net-Defence. Established within the third-generation family-owned Ogilvie Group, the company has spent the past decade investing in technical expertise, automation and customer-focused services while building a strong promote from within culture.
Their progress has also attracted national attention, with Net-Defence recently shortlisted in the prestigious Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), further reinforcing its growing reputation within the UK cyber security sector.
Debra Cairns, Managing Director of Net-Defence, said: “Receiving this recognition is an incredible achievement and reflects the dedication, expertise and commitment of every member of our team.
Over the past decade we’ve deliberately built a business centred on trust, technical excellence and long-term customer relationships. We’ve invested in our people, embraced innovation and remained focused on helping organisations strengthen their cyber resilience while delivering outstanding managed IT and security services.
This achievement belongs to our entire team; every day they go above and beyond to protect our customers, deliver exceptional service and build the trusted partnerships that have made recognition like this possible.”
The honour follows a year in which Net-Defence has continued raising awareness of the growing cyber risks facing SMEs across the North East and beyond, warning that many organisations still underestimate the scale and sophistication of modern cyber threats.
Recent high-profile attacks, increasing regulatory enforcement and the rapid evolution of AI-enabled cyber crime have reinforced the need for organisations to adopt proactive cyber resilience strategies rather than relying on outdated security measures.
Net-Defence has seen growing demand from organisations in the legal, financial services, manufacturing and engineering sectors, where tightening regulation, sensitive data and increasingly interconnected supply chains have heightened cyber risk.
Debra added, “Cyber resilience has become fundamental to business success; attackers continue to evolve their methods, with artificial intelligence enabling more sophisticated phishing campaigns, faster exploitation of vulnerabilities and highly personalised attacks.
The organisations that invest in resilience today will be the ones best positioned to protect their operations tomorrow. As an SME ourselves, we understand the challenges businesses face, which is why collaboration, education and practical support remain central to everything we do.”
Throughout its growth, Net-Defence has remained committed to sustainable expansion by investing in internal talent, streamlining service delivery through automation and maintaining the high standards of customer service that have become synonymous with the business.
Debra concluded, “We’d like to thank every one of our customers and partners for the trust they’ve placed in us over the years. Most importantly, thank you to our incredible team, their professionalism, passion and commitment have made this achievement possible. As we enter the next chapter of our journey, we’ll continue investing in our people, supporting businesses across the region and helping organisations build the resilience they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world.”
