The history of Bluecube

Why The Name 'Bluecube'?

There is much debate over the origins of the Bluecube name, but one reasoning behind the name that we quite like is that the colour ‘blue’ was inspired from IBM and other large technology companies that have helped change the face of our industry.

This fitting colour captures the spirit of Bluecube too; it’s often seen as trustworthy, secure, stable and reliable - all qualities that Bluecube strives for.

Next is the ‘cube’ element. A 3-dimensional structure like this symbolises stability, permanence and geometric perfection.

Clients look to Bluecube for their IT infrastructure and managed IT support, so a ‘cube’ captures the essence of what Bluecube aims for perfectly: stability. Our IT solutions help provide the building blocks and foundations for businesses to thrive.

About James Hawker

Bluecube’s origin story is simple. It started with a small but monumental conversation: one person looking for an IT solution, the other willing to help and solve the issue.

James Hawker is the Founder and CEO of Bluecube; he started his career working in IT recruitment before setting up IT company, Bluecube Technology Solutions in March 2003.

Since Bluecube started, James has been actively engaged with the business. He is a passionate and exciting CEO that leads by example, allowing his senior leadership team great freedom to deliver, whilst providing them with the opportunity and the support to excel.

James is an inspirational and compelling leader, with a keen passion for business, he enjoys being an active part of driving the success of his various teams in our offices across the UK and the United States.

Making Clients' Lives Easier

Since Bluecube’s inception back in the early 2000s, there has always been a customer-centric mindset with an emphasis on: “let us worry about your IT, so you can focus on your business”. This mentality has naturally transitioned into the ethos Bluecube live and breathe by today; making peoples’ lives easier. In everything we do, we ask ourselves the question, will this make our clients’ lives easier?

The main driver behind this ethos of making clients’ lives easier is centred around supporting people. With the widespread attitude being that Bluecube supports people first, and it’s the technology that follows second.

People first, technology second

Since day one, Bluecube has always been focused on listening to clients first. Whenever we meet with new or existing clients our attitude is: listen first, respond second.

This means that all our workshops with both potential and existing clients are all people-led and based on actual business requirements, Bluecube are naturally curious about how we can actually deliver real value. Instead of leading with the latest, flashy technology to dazzle and impress, Bluecube have flipped the expectation that many have of IT companies, and instead start with a conversation.

With this conversation, Bluecube like to focus on the people and listen to what their needs and requirements really are. When Bluecube understand this, help can be given in a truly meaningful, focused and tailored way. Bluecube use that initial conversation and the requirements discussed to build a bespoke IT solution that is uniquely tailored to the need.

“Across the IT industry, too many IT companies are trying to shake the assumed stereotypes and appear “cool, interesting or different” instead. At Bluecube, we’re not interested in getting caught up in this mentality. For us, it’s all about providing a service that’s secure, accessible, and high quality – as that’s what our clients truly want.””

David Robinson, Commercial Director, joined Bluecube in 2004

The Bluecube Culture

Naturally, the culture at Bluecube has evolved over the last 20 years. But some elements remain the same: the people are always dedicated, driven and are focused on the right solution and there’s a strong feeling that Bluecube will never adopt a big corporate mentality.

For those willing to progress their career within the company, there is a huge amount of freedom to grow and develop. As long as individuals are confident, driven, and have the ability, there will always be opportunity.

Bluecube has a fun environment, there’s a constant buzz in the open plan office.

One standout aspect of the Bluecube culture is that people often return to it. The ebb and flow of employees moving on to new ventures is natural in any business as people seek new opportunities or change. However, there’s no denying the pull that Bluecube has on its employees, with many returning to work here as they miss the culture.

Expansion in the UK & Overseas

Brewery House, Newport Pagnell, 2003       

Network House, Newport Pagnell 

Industrial Unit, Newport Pagnell                 

Blackhill Drive, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes, 2009

Norfolk House, Central Milton Keynes, 2021

The evolution of Bluecube has seen the business grow in terms of its service offerings but also in its location and office buildings. From its early beginnings in a small high street building in Newport Pagnell, to an office in Wolverton, before moving again to a larger, modern office building in Central Milton Keynes.

Alongside five Buckinghamshire-based office moves, Bluecube has expanded in the UK and globally too. In early 2022, a second UK-based Bluecube office opened in London (5 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LG), combined with recruiting more field engineers located in various places within the UK and overseas in Boston and Seattle.

A Unique Service Offering at Bluecube
For Victims of a Cyber Attack, We Offer A New Recovery Service

Over the years, Bluecube’s service offerings have naturally evolved with the times and changing technologies, from keeping networks up and making sure networks didn’t break in the noughties to responding to cyber threats and attacks in the present day.

Since the start of the pandemic, cyber-attacks have been on the rise and affecting businesses across the world. One unique service that Bluecube now offers is cyber incident recovery. Organisations now come to us when they’ve been the victim of a cyber-attack, and our bespoke Crisis Response team help get their business back up and running as quickly as possible. This unique, constant and current insight is invaluable.

Timeline of Bluecube's History

2003 – Bluecube is founded by James Hawker.
2004 – Bluecube awarded Certified Microsoft Partner. We expanded to around 10 employees
2005 – Bluecube became the first UK partner of Postini – delivering mail scanning to clients
2006 – Bluecube delivers a world-class VOIP solution, building the UK’s first demonstration suite, incorporating QoS over ADSL circuits. Bluecube’s expansion sees the office grow to around 17 employees
2009 – James, CEO of Bluecube, is awarded ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’. Bluecube is expanding further and moved offices into Wolverton Mill
2010 – Bluecube launched a Managed Client Platform from new Tier 4 Data Centre Facility
2011 – Bluecube acquired Hypercubic (LDN IT Service Provider)
2012 – Actively changed business approach to people first, and supporting people first – with internal ethos ‘make clients lives easier’
2013 – Norwich Data Centre provisioned, and Managed Backup as Service is launched
2014 – Bluecube launched Lighthouse tool (developer James Wilson) and offers Disaster Recovery as a service
2015 – Bluecube secure first major contracts with syndicated desks. The Bluecube office has grown to around 40 employees
2017 – ISO 27001 accreditation achieved, and started to build client base in the Non-Profit sector
2019 – Bluecube now has over 70 employees
2020 – Bluecube opens offices in Boston. Also added Google Suite and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to their cloud solution offerings
2021 – Bluecube experiences record growth and moved offices to Norfolk House in Central MK, and ended the year with around 150 employees. Bluecube also launched Bluecube Academy (our apprenticeship scheme). We also started delivering a Crisis Response service. Bluecube also donated all the old office equipment to local charities from the office move (£15,000 worth of technology equipment for education programmes: MK Dons SET, Warden Hill Junior School and I CAN)
2022 – Bluecube expanded further into the US, opening an office in Seattle. As well as opened a new dedicated London office and an office in Dublin in March/ April. Bluecube also launched its rebrand: "Keeping your world moving"                                              2023 - Bluecube reaches its 20th Anniversary as well as celebrating hitting over 200 employees. 

Hear our story