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.
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
