Frequently asked questions

Find answers below to commonly asked questions about Nimbus Blue, IT Support and Cyber Security

About Nimbus Blue

Who are you guys?

We’re Nimbus Blue, nice to meet you! We’re a small team of people who love to give awesome customer service. I mean, sure we like the geeky stuff too, but our values are what we live and breathe each day, which is why we’re proud to be award winners in the Customer First category of the Northern Star Business Awards. Come and meet the team.

Why should I choose Nimbus Blue?

Excellent question! Rather than waxing lyrical about ourselves, here it is in a nutshell.

Northern Star Business Awards winner 2021 for Customer First.
The first Aberdeen-based IT company to hold ISO 27001 certification for Information Security Management.
All (and we mean all) of our technical team has no less than 7 years of experience each, with a combined experience of over 75 years.
No tiered support (1st line, 2nd line, etc.). Ever! When you call, you’re straight onto someone who can solve your issue.
We know Mac! Our technical team use Macs as well as Windows PCs every day, so they don’t panic when you call with a Mac issue.

How long have you been around?

Nimbus Blue sprang to life in 2010 when our founder, David Tawse, decided it was time to create an IT business in Aberdeen that focussed on customer service first. This came from his background of working in retail and leisure, but combining his love of all things tech. Now, Nimbus Blue serves companies far beyond its Aberdeen roots.

Where did the name come from?

We get asked this a lot – shame the answer isn’t more exciting!

When we launched in 2010, cloud for business was just becoming a thing and we were one of the very few specialists at the time – that’s where the “Nimbus” part comes from. “Blue” is a reference to blue sky thinking – our approach to solutions.

And it’s hard to find a unique domain name these days! We still had to have a hyphen in nimbus-blue.com, much to David’s irritation.

Don't you just serve big businesses?

Nope. In fact, our IT support and cyber security packages cater for businesses of all sizes, large or small. We’re a small business ourselves and completely understand the unique challenges that brings.

Do you only help businesses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire?

Nope. We’re based in Aberdeen, but many of our customers have offices in other parts of Scotland, the UK, Norway, Australia, Canada, and the US.

Do I need a contract to use you?

Nope. We offer ad-hoc support, but you’ll get the most benefit and best pricing by being on one of our IT Support or Cyber Security services.

IT Support

How do I know I'll get good service?

It’s not easy choosing someone for your IT support, but we can assure you of great service. Not only are we award winners for customer service (NSBA 2021), but we have amazing customer feedback, case studies of our work, and we’re ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 27001 (Information Security) certified. We don’t know of any other Aberdeen IT Support company that can say that.

Do you have a "cheap" support service?

That really depends on what you mean by “cheap”. For example, you may see other providers offering support services at around £15 per month. At that price, you’re getting low-end management products, poor security, and inexperienced staff. Is that what you really want for your business? We deliver value with high-quality, best-of-breed products to take care of you.

Can I contact you 24/7?

We don’t include 24/7 support as standard because, typically, our small business customers don’t want the cost. If you need 24/7 support, no problem, get in touch to request a quote.

How will changing provider be handled?

We understand that you may be hesitant to change provider, even if you’re experiencing poor response times, high costs, or an obvious skills gap. You may fear the stress or time pressures of changing, but you know the relationship needs to end. We hear this a lot.

To make the transition process as simple and stress-free as possible, we take on all the responsibilities of accessing and learning your systems, transferring licences and checking network performance. We’ll document your systems, catalogue licences and hardware, and review your setup. We’ll obtain all relevant information from your current IT provider.

What if my old provider causes problems?

If your current IT provider tries to make it difficult to leave, it usually confirms that you’re making the right decision.

But you don’t need to worry. We handle all of the technical elements of switching IT provider. This includes obtaining relevant passwords and access rights from your old provider and migrating any licences to our care. Just leave it to us to get the information we need.

Remember, YOU OWN YOUR IT systems. No one can legally withhold your data or threaten to turn services off prematurely.

Pro-Cover Support

Is it really unlimited?

Yes! Unlike our competitors, all working hours help desk support, whether by phone, email or onsite (within our service area), is included. No more surprises on your invoices!

How much will this cost me?

Pro-Cover is customised to fit your individual needs, so we can only give accurate pricing after getting some information about your business, taking into account the complexity of your IT infrastructure, applications and security risk.

However, as a rough example, a business with 10 staff and basic systems would pay around £995 per month.

For an accurate price, get in touch to request a quote.

What's the difference between Pro-Cover and your other packages?

Pro-Cover is for businesses that want their IT provider to be more than just support. You will benefit from regular strategic business reviews, planning and budgeting, ensuring that your IT and security are aligned with current trends and upcoming changes in your business.

Oh, and did we mention that Pro-Cover is all-inclusive? No more unpredictable IT invoices.

What the heck is TechSuccess?

TechSuccess is our unique process that makes sure we’re keeping up with the changes and challenges in your business, and that you’re keeping up with the evolving best practices for IT and cyber security. The goal is to allow you to make informed, conscious decisions about IT that impact your business positively.

What's included in the Unlimited Cloud Backup?

We include unlimited storage for Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox Business, Box Business and Salesforce.

Can I get Pro-Cover for less than 1 year?

Nope. On average, we spend 74 working hours to on-board a new Pro-Cover client. This is essential to give you the level of service you deserve. A minimum term is the only way we can deliver such a high standard of service.

Cyber Essentials Certification

Do I really need Cyber Essentials?

More and more government contracts will require that you have Cyber Essentials, as a minimum. It’s also becoming increasingly common in the private sector for customers to question the security of their supply chain. Achieving Cyber Essentials will give you an immediate advantage over your competitors.

How long does it take get certified?

In terms of total elapsed time, this will depend on how much remediation work is required to ensure you meet the standard. Typically, we get our customers from zero to certified within 3 weeks.

Are there any additional costs?

Not from us, though you may need to put some things in place to “plug the gap” between where you are now and where you need to be to meet the standard. We’ll advise on this after the initial assessment.

How much help do I get?

We’ll walk you through the process to certification, no matter how long it takes and no matter how many audits (CE+ only) we have to run.

Is certification guaranteed

With our guided services, we will ensure you do not fail, provided you follow our instructions.

How long does the certification last?

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus expire after 1 year. You will need to repeat the certification process annually to maintain it.

Dark Web Monitoring

What type of information is on the dark web?

Any information that is stored on the internet could potentially be stolen. This includes e-mail credentials, personal data like name and address, credit card numbers, phone numbers and social security numbers. With these, someone could steal a person’s identity or access sensitive company information, so it’s important to keep data breaches at bay.

How do I know if my e-mail has been hacked?

There are plenty of sites online that tell you whether your e-mail has been hacked, but they don’t tell you how. You can tell with dark web monitoring services. You can also see signs of it when your account has strange e-mails or if you receive unprompted password reset messages.

Is my company’s information on the dark web?

If you store information online or you don’t have a strong IT security for your business, chances are some of your information has made its way to the dark web.

If your organisation has ties with big banks, social media sites and e-commerce platforms that have been breached, it’s also likely that your data has been stolen.

Is dark web monitoring enough to keep my business safe online?

Dark web monitoring does a lot to monitor and protect your organisation. However, dark web monitoring acts as post-breach security. If you want to prevent your data from being stolen in the first place, you also need a comprehensive IT security measure in place.

How does dark web monitoring work?

Nimbus Blue’s dark web monitoring services work by using both human and artificial intelligence to crawl through the dark web’s chat rooms, websites and bulletins and look for compromised credentials. We then help you secure related e-mail addresses and other accounts.