International Business Leader’s Forum



The International Business Leaders’ Forum

The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) works globally with businesses, governments, and international agencies to create new partnerships that help both business and communities to flourish. It is part of The Prince’s Charities – a group of 16 not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President.

As the majority of IBLF’s workstations are Macintosh, Mac know-how is key for an organisation so dependent on effective communications. Technical support was originally provided in-house, but IT manager Nick Claridge decided that outsourcing could deliver the increased depth of cover and scope of knowledge crucial to optimal efficiency.

After only a few months, it became clear that the outsourced company IBLF had contracted did not have the Mac-specific skills required. A Google text advert led Nick Claridge to contact SupportPlan: ‘We were attracted by SupportPlan’s combination of competitive pricing, a promise of immediate response from a pool of Mac experts, and excellent hardware and PC support mechanisms. Their offer was exactly what we were looking for.’

Outsourcing to SupportPlan brought immediate benefits: ‘With our previous support company, time to fix a problem was an average of eight hours’, says Nick Claridge, ‘they were often on site and sometimes had to visit several times until a solution was found. They were always fire fighting.’

‘SupportPlan immediately took a different approach. They planned a Standard Profile for all our Macs to give us a common operating system and applications on every computer. Our users have confidence in the remote support they receive – and the average time to fix a problem is now down to two hours.’

 

A Mac-unfriendly product

Identifying – and resolving – a major problem with IBLF’s email system was a typical example of the focus and knowledge SupportPlan can offer.

IBLF’s email (including remote access), custom databases and shared calendar facilities were provided by Lotus Notes, accessed on 45 Macs and 5 PCs connected to a Domino server.

Like all popular commercial software packages, Lotus Notes has its detractors as well as supporters. In providing technical support on a daily basis, SupportPlan became quickly aware of the problems the application was causing. Of the 45 Mac users, the majority’s experience was that IBM’s ‘groupware’ application can be a less than Mac-friendly product. For instance, when new mail arrives, a message reads ‘You have new mail’, but the mailbox display doesn’t update; you have to press a key or menu item to refresh it. Archiving email for the first time can also be complex and unintuitive.

Working in close collaboration with Nick Claridge, the SupportPlan team identified a solution that would offer ease of use and drive greater productivity. SupportPlan proposed that the server that would deliver best performance for IBLF’s needs was Microsoft Exchange, combined with Microsoft Entourage software to provide email, shared calendar, public folders and custom databases facilities.

 

Minimum migration time

In setting up a test account to ensure a seamless-as-possible migration from the old system to the new, SupportPlan was able to highlight a potential problem. Converting a file to PST in order to transfer it from Domino to Exchange, proved reliable but time-consuming. The change-over period for 50 users would be an unacceptable five days minimum. By converting files to IMAP, SupportPlan greatly reduced migration time.

The detailed testing phase also revealed that many users had devised highly complex structures for filing their mail. These structures had to be re-created and manually dragged onto the new system, again incurring unacceptable downtime. SupportPlan proposed the Microsoft connector EXT Notes, which allowed these structures to be retained, while reducing migration time to an average of 45 minutes per user.

When it came to the change over, downtime was restricted from 4.30pm to 11am the next day. Users found that their machines were set up and ready on the afternoon of the migration day, at which time SupportPlan provided full training in the new system for blocks of five or six people.

 

Anticipating problems

Having set up the new system, SupportPlan’s ongoing service was able to solve two problems with Exchange which became apparent in the following few months: archiving and security. A machine which mirrored the Domino server was set up to provide easy archiving, while two further machines ensured security by providing DHCP and a robust firewall.

Summing up IBLF’s experience with SupportPlan, Nick Claridge said ‘What impresses us is SupportPlan’s flexibility and enthusiasm for adding value. They have identified problems, devised solutions and given invaluable help in sourcing hardware and software at a keen price. It’s also reassuring to have desktop support from a Mac engineer who can guarantee a quick response’. This confidence in SupportPlan is reflected in IBLF’s two year rolling contract for ongoing technical support.

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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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