COMPUTER security is much more than protecting your system from virus problems and a new Southampton company has been set up in a bid to help companies become more aware and proactive in this field.

Pirean is the brainchild of director Neil Newman and Stuart Wilson who are both ex-IBM employees. Mr Wilson has a technical background in the banking industry and is the designer behind systems while Mr Newman brings the product to market and to the notice of clients.

"The different disciplines work well together," said Mr Newman. "We work with companies on everything from security of information to hacking problems."

He says companies large and small have the same kind of technical issues facing them and these are set to increase still further in the future.

"We set up everything from access privileges to audit trails and work to help companies minimise the risk of any adverse IT problems affecting their business," said Mr Wilson.

The company has already built up a strong portfolio of clients and specialises in the public sector and the pharmaceutical industry.

They believe the market around the Southampton area is strong for Pirean and that DTI and government initiatives to encourage companies to meet IT criteria will become as important as environmental and quality standards.

"Development work in the IT world has almost reached a plateau in terms of computer capability and now it's time for companies to batten down the hatches and control their information," said Mr Newman.

"There is so much for a company to think about in terms of computer security, but without their information bases so many would be facing severe difficulties and that's where we want to help them prevent problems rather than dealing with potentially disastrous situations."