Keeping critical digital services resilient, secure and accessible for Natural Resources Wales

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Wales' natural resources, protects biodiversity and helps communities prepare for environmental risks.

Its work depends on a wide range of digital systems, from public-facing flood warning services to the platforms employees use to collaborate, learn and make decisions.

Since 2019, we've worked with NRW to provide independent assurance across these systems, supporting the ongoing delivery of reliable, secure and accessible public services.

Digital services people depend on

When communities need information about flooding or environmental conditions, access to timely, reliable information matters.

NRW's telemetry and flood warning systems provide critical information to the public and decision-makers. Behind the scenes, its employees also depend on digital tools to communicate, share information and carry out their work.

For services like these, understanding how systems behave under demand is particularly important. Our load and performance testing gives NRW insight into how its technology responds under different conditions.

These systems serve very different purposes, but they share an important requirement: they need to be dependable, secure and accessible to the people using them. For NRW, maintaining that quality across a varied portfolio of technology requires ongoing assurance rather than a one-off exercise.

Independent assurance across a changing digital estate

Our partnership covers both NRW's public-facing services and internal platforms.

Regular penetration testing helps NRW identify security vulnerabilities and understand where improvements are needed. Alongside this, we assess how public-facing systems perform under demand, giving NRW practical findings to support ongoing improvements.

Our work also extends to internal tools, including Microsoft Teams, Whiteboard, Forms and NRW's learning management system. Through security and accessibility reviews, we help NRW improve the platforms its employees use to collaborate and develop their skills.

The breadth of this work means our approach needs to adapt to different technologies, users and operational requirements, while giving NRW consistent access to independent specialist expertise.

Supporting NRW's wider mission

For NRW, digital assurance is about more than maintaining individual systems.

Reliable flood warning and environmental information supports the communities and decision-makers who depend on it. Accessible, secure internal platforms help employees work effectively and share information across the company.

Digital accessibility is another important part of this work, helping NRW identify and address barriers across services used by the public and its employees.

Our ongoing partnership gives NRW independent insight into the security, performance and accessibility of its digital services, helping its teams prioritise improvements and maintain confidence in the technology supporting their work.

It's a practical example of how quality assurance contributes to the delivery of essential public services, both for the people using them and the teams working behind the scenes.