Cyber Essentials Workspace: first steps

Let's start with a new Cyber Essentials Workspace. I'll use a fictional company, Norton and Frey. We're already on the first question, and the list on the left shows the sections we'll work through.

The first question asks for our organisation's name. Before answering, I'll open Guidance from IASME. It explains which name belongs here, so we can check what the question is asking.

Now I'll close the guidance and enter Norton and Frey Limited. In your own workspace, use the correct legal name for your organisation.

The answer saves automatically. Saved locally at the top confirms it's stored on this computer, so we can come back to it later.

Once I've checked the answer, I'll click Mark ready and next. Ready is our progress marker for this answer; it isn't a certification decision.

The next question asks what type of organisation we are. Our example is a limited company, so I'll select that option.

That answer is checked too. I'll mark it ready and move on to the number of employees.

I'll open the guidance again. This question includes more than employees on the payroll: it also mentions volunteers and contractors with access to organisational data. I need to check our count before answering.

I'll leave this answer blank for now and use Add action. I'll write a reminder to confirm the employee count, including contractors, then add it.

In Actions, that reminder is linked to the question and still open. This gives us a list of things to follow up while we carry on with the questionnaire.

Now I'll open Overview. We can see the company name, our two ready answers, and the work still outstanding. We've made a start, and the rest of the assessment still needs completing.

One useful thing to know before you continue: Copy to portal is where your prepared answers are collected for transfer. I'll open it so you can see the company details we've just entered.

Clicking Copy puts this answer on the clipboard, ready to paste into the official assessment portal. It copies one answer; you'll still review and submit your application through the official portal.

Let's return to Overview and continue at the employee question. From here, work through each question, read the guidance, and keep track of anything you need to check. Your answers and progress stay in the workspace.