The story of the two worlds behind the founders of uComply

Compliance and security today are more complex than ever. Organizations are looking for ways to keep a grip on standards, risk and governance. At uComply.cloud we have developed a solution that is not only smart, but also tells a story: the uComply AI Assistant. This assistant is a unique blend of knowledge and experience from two heavyweights: Stephan Brinkhuis, lead auditor and compliance expert, and Alex van der Stam, pioneer in IT and data governance.

Alex: from dial-up points to AI solutions

After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, Alex started his career in corporate IT, where he realized projects in the financial sector for many years. But entrepreneurship soon beckoned. He became one of the first Internet providers in the Netherlands - yes, back then still via dial-up points (who remembers that sound?).

After offering Internet services, a new step followed: delivering Microsoft applications from its own data centers under the banner of Universal Cloud. Today, that concept has been fully developed into the Microsoft Cloud, with a full-service approach to:

• The productive workplace
• Security and connectivity
• Data-driven and AI-based solutions

After all these years, Alex is still a pioneer in IT - always looking forward, always innovative.

Stephan: the standard setter with global experience

Stephan has been active in the world of compliance for many years. He started as an internal auditor, but progressed to lead auditor at EY. In that role, he has helped organizations in almost every continent to become and stay compliant.

What makes Stephan unique is not only his broad knowledge of standards and frameworks, but also his strong analytical ability. He can get to the heart of compliance processes at lightning speed. And perhaps more importantly, he has a great deal of organizational knowledge. Stephan understands the specific challenges of different industries - whether IT, Healthcare, Logistics or Energy: been there, done that.

That expertise is crucial to really help organizations, from small to large, move forward. He makes compliance not only understandable, but also inspiring and alive.

Where Alex and Stephan found each other

About ten years ago, Universal Cloud was one of the first IT service providers to achieve ISO 27001 certification for information security. And you guessed it: it was thanks to Stephan, who was an internal audit consultant at the time. With Alex's knowledge and expertise, a management system for compliance was quickly created. Internally within Universal, that system has been in use and further developed for ten years.

The basis of uComply was thus created at that time and developed further in recent years into the uComply Cloud, with:

• An adult app
• The powerful AI Consultant
• And still the expertise of the founders: Stephan for personal advice and guidance, and Alex for the integration of uComply into customer systems

uComply is today the platform that brings together technology and human expertise.