07 October 2024

Independent family pub, retailer and brewer, Hydes, was founded in 1863, and has remained an independent brewery in the Northwest of England and North Wales ever since.

Like other breweries, Hydes must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which exists to help keep sensitive financial information safe from theft, hacking, and other security threats.

Long-time partner Evolve has worked with Hydes for almost a decade, supporting its connectivity needs from point-of-sale and printers to CCTV and guest Wi-Fi. Evolve provides Hydes with a customised SD-WAN solution that boasts PCI Level 1 certification for payment security, and until recently, the business was able to complete a PCI self-assessment form to remain compliant. However, recent increases in payment card turnover meant an external audit was required, with a PCI assessor visiting sites to gather evidence that both Hydes and its third-party suppliers are PCI compliant. It would require not only additional resources but valuable hours for Hydes to gain external certification.

Safeguarding the business

Early in 2024, Evolve stepped in to oversee the entire external certification process. From working directly with Hydes POS provider and ensuring they have the right certification, to supporting site visits in-person, Evolve was able to complete the assessment on behalf of Hydes.

Although the process required extensive up-front work to prepare for the assessment questions and documentation requirements, this ultimately proved a time-saving exercise for Hydes. Not only did it negate the need for inhouse resource to be tied up by the process, but thanks to Evolve’s long-standing relationship with Hydes, extensive knowledge of the PCI process and customisable boilerplates, Evolve’s help in ensuring Hydes is fully PCI compliant has ensured the protection of card holder data, reduced the risk of data breaches, and safeguarded the business’s reputation.

Working with the Evolve team has also brought a range of additional benefits. Hydes’ 24/7/365 fully manned network operations centre has proven invaluable to businesses in the hospitality sector, which often operate outside core hours and require round-the-clock trouble-shooting support. Indeed, Hydes’ managed network solution provides a complete and end-to-end network infrastructure, including hardware, software, as well as ongoing support, providing hospitality clients a consistent and secure internet connection, regardless of the size and complexity of their property.

Customised solutions

For merchants to thrive in these challenging times, it’s vital that they remain PCI compliant. Evolve’s customised solutions with PCI Level 1 certification for payment security as a Mako Network platinum partner help ensure success.

For Hydes, Evolve was able to reduce the length of the external PCI Compliance process significantly. Thanks to the expertise of the Evolve team, all the required documents and evidence of policies was gathered with minimal input from Hydes, and the business has now achieved external PCI certification.