FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Before anything else
Whether we are a fit for you
What areas do you cover?
We work on-site across Newcastle and the Hunter, and support clients remotely anywhere in Australia. Most security and cloud work does not require anybody to be in the room, so remote clients get the same service. Where physical presence genuinely matters, such as a network installation or a site survey, that is when we travel.
Do you work with small businesses, or only large ones?
Small businesses are most of what we do. A great deal of security advice is written for organisations with a security team, and translating it for a business of fifteen people is much of the job. There is no minimum engagement size, and we will tell you when the right answer is a few hours of work rather than a project.
We already have an IT provider. Can you still help?
Yes, and it is a common arrangement. Independent security work sits comfortably alongside an existing provider, and good providers welcome it because an external assessment turns a vague budget conversation into a specific list. We assess environments rather than people, and we write handover documentation for your provider rather than for ourselves.
How the work is done
How we operate
Are you a reseller?
No. We do not resell hardware, software licences, or connectivity, and we take no vendor commissions. That means recommendations carry nothing else with them, and you buy at your own price rather than at ours with a margin added. It is also why we can tell you to keep what you have for another two years without it costing us anything.
Who actually does the work?
A senior consultant, and the same person who scoped the engagement. There is no handover to a junior after you sign, and no offshore subcontracting. For a practice of this size that is simply a fact of how it operates rather than a promise, which is part of the point.
Do you sign NDAs and provide insurance certificates?
Yes to both, routinely. Send us your NDA rather than asking us to send ours, and tell us what evidence of insurance your procurement process needs. Neither is unusual and neither slows things down.
The practical part
Money, and what happens next
How much do you charge?
It depends on the engagement, and we quote a fixed price before work starts so the invoice matches the quote. We do not publish rate cards because the honest answer to almost every pricing question is that it depends on scope, and a number that is wrong for most readers is worse than no number. Tell us what you are trying to solve and we will give you a realistic range before anything is committed to.
What happens when I get in touch?
You will get an email asking you to confirm the enquiry, which exists so nobody can use our form to send you mail you did not ask for. Once you confirm, a senior consultant replies within one business day, usually sooner. The first conversation is about understanding what you are trying to solve, so the work can be scoped and quoted. There is no sales sequence and you will not be added to a mailing list.
How does an engagement start?
With a conversation about what you are trying to solve, so the work can be scoped properly. Out of that you get a fixed price for a defined piece of work, in writing, before anything begins. If what you need turns out to be smaller than you thought, we will say so, and if it is not something we should be doing at all we will point you elsewhere.
Questions about a specific service
Each service page answers the questions particular to it: what is in scope, how long it takes, and what it will and will not tell you.
How we work
- No commissions
- 1 business day
- Retest included
- Newcastle and the Hunter
Still have a question?
Tell us what you are trying to solve and we will tell you what it would take.
Get in touch