Four IV Design



Four IV Design

Neil Hickford, Digital Design Consultant/Senior Artworker

 

Four IV Design is a highly successful consultancy that specialises in graphics and interiors. The company is better known for designing interiors for highbrow clients although various projects have covered graphics and interiors. Four IV’s clients include Burberry, Liberty, the National Portrait Gallery, Harvey Nichols, New Look and the Arcadia Group. They have undertaken a substantial corporate ID project for Mulberry including the redesign of the interior at the Bond Street branch and the press advertisements. Graphically, the retailer’s identity has been updated and applied across stationery, mail order and packaging. Through this project, Four IV has helped this luxury goods retailer to become an international brand.

 

SupportPlan & Four IV

We met Neil Hickford, the Senior Artworker, at their stylish offices in EC1. Due to the nature of the business, Four IV is largely a Mac environment. Neil has taken on the dual role of artworker and IT contact. He admits that whilst IT is not his forte, he is the most technically minded person there. Neil had worked with SupportPlan at a previous company and recommended them to Four IV. “When I first came here it was apparent that they needed SupportPlan as there wasn’t a network or server. We had one printer. It was all pretty basic and there were only a dozen people here.” SupportPlan oversees the IT support for Four IV as, like most consultancies, they don’t have a dedicated in-house IT team. So how does SupportPlan help Neil? “I’ll call SupportPlan’s helpline and ask them for their recommendations and trouble shooting advice.” He added, “A simple phone call to SupportPlan can save me a lot of time. I also know that if a colleague has asked an IT related question that I’m unable to answer, I can rely on SupportPlan to promptly solve the issue.”

 

SupportPlan Provides Solutions

 

Neil explained how this company has changed. “As we grew there was a need for a server as I had to back up all the Macs every night and it just took too many hours out of each day.” At this point Neil contacted SupportPlan who sent in engineers to install a server, “It was a huge thing to do and they did it in a few days.” How did this affect his day-to-day running of the business? “It made everything more manageable as I only had to deal with the one server rather than forty different computers — it made life so much easier.” Even if the server connection goes down Neil says that he knows that SupportPlan will be there quickly to sort it out.

 

SupportPlan has also resolved their email and network connection problems. Four IV had been sold an unusual email system that wasn’t working and they required an independent assessment from SupportPlan. A replacement email system was installed and all is now running smoothly. Neil has since asked them back to discuss their working practises and how their systems could be updated. He stated, “They are always helpful and give the right advice. I like to keep up with technology but need to know that it’s right for the company. SupportPlan has tried and tested many systems so I’ll know beforehand if something is right or wrong for us before we pay out for it.”

 

Finally, Neil remarked, “I rely on SupportPlan. Even though I’m able to carry out certain tasks, it’s reassuring to know that SupportPlan is on the other end of the phone if I need them for back up.”

Have questions? Need answers?

If you have any IT related issues, we have the solution for you. Whether you need long-term Mac and PC support or an urgent fix, don't hesitate and get in touch.

Contact us now!

Over 320 Satisfied Customers

I just wanted to say thank you for the visit today from SupportPlan. The engineer picked up many issues that we had outstanding and was professional and tireless! Really grateful for all his support and expertise today.

Beth, Operations Manager

SupportPlan has been a highly valued supplier to APR Communications, supporting our luxury PR agency from 1997 until 2018 when the company merged to become ANM.

We cannot recommend SupportPlan more highly.  Not only have SupportPlan provided an impeccable service; they have also been a true partner of the agency providing excellent counsel re our IT requirements and valuable cost-saving advice.

The team are very responsible and always go the extra mile in providing technical solutions in a user-friendly manner.

We wish Lance and the SupportPlan team our best and have been honoured to work with them.

Annabel McAvoy, Managing Partner, APR Communications LLP

All unforeseen problems were handled smoothly and calmly with the expertise of the engineers…[SupportPlan] sold me solutions and not technology.

Reginald Thompson, Conran Design Group Ltd

SupportPlan are fast, efficient, friendly and very knowledgeable. They have resolved any problems I have thrown their way and in quick time.  I would recommend them to any company.

Design Manager, Colliers International

I rely on SupportPlan. Even though I’m able to carry out certain tasks, it’s reassuring to know that SupportPlan is on the other end of the phone if I need them for back up.

Neil Hickford, Four IV Design

I work in a very busy marketing team. Knowing that SupportPlan are there to help us, in case of any problems has always been reassuring. They proved it one day when my Mac broke down as I was facing a tough deadline. Not only did SupportPlan swiftly replace the faulty computer, but their engineer also transferred all my files to the new Mac, enabling me to get back to work right away.

Claudia Mansaray, Marketing Communications Executive, Alzheimer's Society

I had the opportunity to work with your engineer via telephone today. I was so impressed with his helpfulness, knowledge and professionalism that I felt that I should send this email complement. Who ever hired him made the right decision. I will certainly be recommending your company to any other company I work with.

John McCrudden, MSc MCSE ACTC JNCIS-ER, "IT Infrastructure Specialist", Mitie Business Services

SupportPlan’s engineers have the knack for solving problems quickly by asking jargon-free questions that make a user feel like an IT expert.

Christine Holdforth, Manager, Corporate Publicity and Design Studio, Department of Education and Skills

SupportPlan is unusual in that the ‘top man’ is much more hands on with his clients than in other comparable organisations and is happy to step in when required. The engineers are responsive in a crisis and devote themselves to solving the problem efficiently.

Irena St John-Brooks, Managing Director, Pension Publications Ltd

SupportPlan are a rare breed in that they genuinely understand creative agencies and how we use IT in the business. They provide all our day-to-day IT support in a seamless and proactive way as well as advising us at a strategic level.

Financial Director, Salter Baxter

We were very impressed not only by the promptness of response but also by the consistency for the support…our Mac users were able to build up a strong working relationship with the regular team of experts from SupportPlan.

Richard Swann, IT Manager, Institute of Directors

I thoroughly recommend SupportPlan for whatever creative IT needs you may have…their expert knowledge is worth their weight in gold, let alone the service and range of services they back this up with. They are and always will be constant to my working life, as they have never let me down.

Neil Carter, Studio Manager, Penna Plc.

It’s reassuring to know that I have the breadth of skills of the SupportPlan team to back me up when I need them.

Gareth Perry, Group IT Manager, Eaglemoss

I have no hesitation recommending SupportPlan. They have maintained our computers for 12 years and they have ensured that any problems are resolved on the same day so we experienced as little down time during working hours. Their technicians are extremely knowledgeable and are always polite and helpful.

Accreditations


It’s not just our customers that recognise our hard work, we are accredited by Apple, Microsoft, Dell, HP, VMWare, Juniper, Kerio, Archiware P5, as well as many other manufacturers.

Our clients range from corporate giants, to hundreds of smaller businesses, many of whom rely on us to be their virtual IT department. They know we will never compromise on providing the right person for the right IT challenge and that’s why we’re the obvious first port of call when IT support is needed.

IONOS Agency Partner
Dropbox Certified Administrator
Dropbox Certified Seller
Barracuda
Draytek
Mimecast Partners
Altaro Partners
Sophos Silver Partner
COMPTIA Network +
Cyber Essentials Certified – Security
silver-small-midmarket-cloud-solutions
Apple Certified Support Professional
Adobe Accredited Sales Specialist: Creative Cloud for teams
Adobe Certified Sales Professional: Volume Licensing
Adobe Certified Sales Professional: Acrobat XI
Adobe Certified Sales Professional: Creative Suite 6
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
CompTIA Certified
Dell PartnerDirect Registered
VMWare Certified Professional 4
Microsoft Small Business Specialist
Kerio Certified Partner
Apple Certified System Administrator
Apple Consultants Network
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
^Back to top