From humble beginnings, Force 4 has grown into a leading distributor in the marine industry with stores across England and Wales.
Challenge: Rapid growth and poor comms links at a rural HQ were straining IT resources.
Solution: In 2015, warehouse systems were migrated to a data centre, improving business continuity and enabling a new stock and order management suite.
Outcome: Seamless expansion across multiple sites, supported by a trusted partnership spanning more than two decades.
Client Quote:
“We were looking to expand our distribution business but were held back by our IT systems. We have always had a strong partnership with ITP and Richard delivered the hosting platform we required to move our operations.” – Lawrence Parr, Managing Director
Cloud Migration – Microsoft Azure
Challenge: A West Country software firm needed to move hosted web services due to Server 2012 R2 end-of-life and hosting limitations.
Solution: Migrated to Microsoft Azure with AAD integration, SQL hosting via Azure VM, and custom RDS with MFA.
Outcome: Predictable costs through reserved instances and hybrid benefits, fewer servers, and more capacity to grow. The technical team now enjoys secure, reliable access with peace of mind.
Client Quote: "We were using an out of date, expensive platform, where the provider had been bought out twice and the support level had plummeted. We had to find an alternative.
With Azure, the options for compliance with OS and platform specs are clear and easy to deploy. We are much happier about security and compliance now. IT Protocol worked with us to devise the migration plan so it was seamless for the majority of our customers.
The speed and reliability of the end product is vastly improved and allows for seamless expansion. We definitely have better value for money than the managed hosting model we had before."
Hospitality Infrastructure – historic venue
Challenge: Improve internet and comms across the estate to support events and weddings.
Solution: Phased rollout of fibre links, redundant network design, and contractor coordination.
Outcome: Since 2017, a 1Gb leased line has provided reliable connectivity for countless events. In 2025, IT Protocol continues to extend coverage across the site, ensuring guests and staff stay connected.
Hardware Deployment – International Client
Challenge: Supply and deliver Dell PowerEdge servers and EMC storage to Spain.
Solution: Hardware sourced, built, and tested in Woking, then personally managed through customs and delivered directly to Barcelona.
Outcome: Successful international deployment with full compliance and quality control, proving IT Protocol can deliver anywhere in the world.
Manufacturing
Challenge: Modernise infrastructure and bring a hosted Citrix platform back in‑house for greater control.
Solution: Migrated from Hyper‑V to VMWare with secure remote access, deployed RDS, firewalls, wireless, and a secure data vault.
Outcome: IT department gained agility and confidence, with scalable infrastructure across multiple sites.
Who we work with
