Bytes

Bytes transforms security into a revenue-enabling operational standard with Tenable One

As one of the UK’s leading technology providers, Bytes solves complex cloud, security and AI challenges for hundreds of private sector organizations while managing a highly remote, hybrid workforce. Because prospective enterprise clients require rigorous accreditations before awarding high-value contracts, Bytes’ internal security posture directly impacts its commercial success. Adhering to standards like ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus—a UK government-backed framework requiring high and critical vulnerabilities to be remediated within 14 days—is essential for winning enterprise tenders and maintaining client trust.

By advancing from point-in-time scanning to continuous exposure management with the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform, Bytes achieved an 88% reduction in vulnerabilities, eliminated pre-audit scrambles, and established real-time posture visibility across its environment. Standardizing on Tenable One continuously proves operational resilience to commercial partners, turning security compliance into a competitive advantage and growth engine.

“Tenable One allows us to move far beyond basic compliance to establish true, continuous operational resilience,” says Ross Lumby, Security Operations Team Lead at Bytes. “By proving our security posture in real time, we turn compliance into a powerful competitive advantage that drives client trust and directly accelerates our commercial growth.”

Moving beyond point-in-time scans to operationalizing continuous remediation

Beginning its journey in 2024 with Tenable Nessus Expert, Bytes ran quarterly scans on an on-premise scanner. However, this point-in-time model created operational blind spots across off-site laptops disconnected from the corporate VPN, while remediation fixes were rarely validated before the next audit cycle.

Upgrading in 2025 to Tenable One Vulnerability Management enabled daily and weekly agent-based scanning across remote endpoints. This held device management teams accountable to resolve vulnerabilities to completion rather than declaring soft fixes. Consequently, total vulnerabilities dropped by 88% and server exposures decreased to fewer than 300, giving leadership total confidence to pass rigorous Cyber Essentials Plus audit cycles without last-minute panic. Reflecting the value of this evolution, Bytes has invested tenfold more in exposure management since its initial Nessus deployment.

“Tenable One makes continuous protection effortless,” says Lumby. “The simplicity of deploying agents delivered an 88% reduction in vulnerabilities and gives us complete coverage across all endpoints regardless of location, keeping our environment secure without interrupting business operations.”

Unifying the attack surface and expanding capabilities

In 2026, Bytes expanded its proactive defense using the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform. The platform significantly increased Bytes' scanning capabilities across its digital footprint—identifying misconfigurations and exposed credentials, enforcing CIS benchmarks, and ingesting external findings from Microsoft Defender for Cloud into a single pane of glass. Enriching Tenable One with telemetry from other tools has provided superior visibility into Bytes' total attack surface while establishing a single source of truth for posture management.

Achieving Cyber Essentials Plus demonstrates operational maturity to clients, especially since leading auditors rely on Tenable to conduct certification assessments. By standardizing on Tenable One year-round rather than relying on point-in-time auditor scans, Bytes maintains continuous compliance and reinforces client trust.

“In an era where AI threat cycles are accelerating and vendors log record CVEs every month, security cannot remain a quarterly audit scramble. Advancing with Tenable One lets us enrich our core data with trusted tools to see our full attack surface. We don't just pass audits to check a box—we give our team total confidence that we have what we need to pass, proving our resilience to commercial partners every day,” says Lumby.

Looking ahead, Bytes is preparing to expand its footprint into Tenable One Identity Exposure and Attack Path Analysis in Tenable One. By integrating deeper directory insights across Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory, Bytes aims to map contextual attack paths and neutralize risks before adversaries can exploit them.

Elevating security posture to drive enterprise compliance and commercial growth 

Bytes’ evolution demonstrates that internal security posture directly fuels commercial growth. By removing audit friction, expanding endpoint coverage across hybrid workers, enriching data via third-party tools, and preparing for future identity exposure and attack path capabilities, Bytes protects its technical environment while giving enterprise clients full confidence to partner with them.

“With massive vulnerabilities and record-setting monthly CVE disclosures, relying on Tenable is essential to stay secure, counter emerging threats, and ensure long-term resilience,” says Lumby. “It has always been our trusted go-to platform, and it continues to lead the way.”