Technology and Innovation of the Year
Whether you need cover for the hours your team can’t work, a fully managed first line, or additional capacity at peak times, Norman integrates with your existing service desk and your ways of working.
Evenings, weekends and closure periods covered. When your service desk closes, Norman stays open, providing 24/7/365 support for your students and staff.
Norman delivers your entire first line IT service, 24/7/365, day and night, giving your in-house team the freedom to focus on the work that only they can do.
At the start of term, during periods of major change, or whenever demand is high, Norman absorbs the additional volume, so your team is not overwhelmed and your users are not kept waiting.
Ember, our award-winning Virtual Assistant, and our experienced human advisors work together as a single team. Ember resolves routine queries instantly, at any hour, and when a query needs a person, one of our advisors takes it on. Every query is met by the right resource from the outset.
We’re the trusted partner for over 40 universities, including 7 of the top 10 as ranked by The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024. With over two decades of experience, we deliver 24/7/365 support for your staff and students as a natural extension of your own service desk, working within your team’s processes and systems to add capacity without disruption.
Microsoft 365, covering essential productivity tools, including Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Office applications.
Resetting passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA). Ensure your users can quickly regain access when locked out, with resets provided subject to access and security protocols.
Windows and macOS for both managed and personal devices, with secure remote support options to resolve issues swiftly and efficiently.
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and assignment tools, including Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, Turnitin, Panopto, and more.
Compromised accounts, combating email spam and phishing threats, and providing essential end user security guidance.
Escalation to key technical or management staff as needed, keeping your operations running smoothly and minimising downtime.
Getting started is straightforward. For most universities, a simple telephone divert is all that is needed for Norman to begin answering calls on your behalf. If you would like to offer chat as well, we provide a widget for your website and portals that works alongside any chat tools you already use. From there, we handle the queries and keep you informed. Every contact is logged, including whether it was resolved or requires further action, and provided to you in a daily report that can be imported directly into your service management tool. Nothing changes for your users, and very little changes for your team.
Ember is our award-winning virtual agent, available across both voice and chat, so whether a user phones or messages, Ember is ready to help. It has been designed entirely around the user experience, and it is optional: any user who would prefer to speak to a person can do so at any point. Ember has been described as "genuinely moving the needle" on AI in support, recognised for its thoughtful approach, design, and meaningful use of AI to improve the experience for staff and students. Ember works alongside our human advisors as one team, resolving routine queries so that our people can focus on those that need them.
We have been through this process with many universities, so it is well established. Norman holds only the data required to handle each query, and it is deleted automatically once it is no longer needed. During onboarding we discuss how data will be used and complete all of the necessary data processing documentation with you. Norman is also Cyber Essentials certified, and you can verify our certificate at any time by clicking the badge in the footer of this page.
It is not essential, but we do recommend it. The majority of the queries we receive are account related, principally forgotten passwords and MFA lockouts. With access, we can resolve these immediately. Without it, the user must wait for your team to return, which over a weekend or the Christmas closure can be a long time for a student working to a deadline. Access is normally provided through Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), with several options available depending on your security team’s requirements, all of them fully controlled and audited by you. We work through this regularly with university security and governance teams and are happy to answer any questions.
Yes. Alongside your subscription, Norman can be booked in half days, full days or blocks of hours for use throughout the year. Whether it is a team meeting, a training day, a local event or simply a busy week, let us know and we will provide the cover. It is a straightforward way to give your team additional capacity whenever it is needed.
The name comes from the North East Metropolitan Area Network, or
NorMAN, which connected the five universities in the region:
Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside. In 2006,
those universities set up a shared out of hours IT support service
for their staff and students, and it took the network's name.
Over the years the service grew well beyond the North East, and
Northumbria University became its sole owner and operator. It was
rebranded as Norman Managed Services, though to most people it is
simply Norman.
Today Norman is operated by Northumbria University Digital
Services Limited (NUDSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Northumbria
University, and supports universities across the UK and beyond.
Talk to us about how Norman can help your service desk deliver an outstanding experience for everyone. Our Virtual Assistant will take your contact details, and a member of our team will be in touch within 48 hours.