Pièce Montée
Ghent design studio Pièce Montée creates scenography for museums, exhibitions and television productions. Rik Jacques, founder and director, came to Hi-T in September 2021 and is very enthusiastic about the close collaboration: "A reliable IT partner that fits us."
Hi-T Scan: full audit of all devices Report with concrete, prioritised recommendations Growth plan in 3 steps, at their own pace
A reliable IT partner that fits us.
Rik Jacques, founder Pièce Montée
Rik Jacques: "Our multidisciplinary team has six people. We all work on Macs connected to our server. Every one of them is a powerful device, because we often work with 3D renderings and heavy Photoshop files of several gigabytes. To work smoothly and efficiently, a reliable IT infrastructure is essential. We used to rely on an external IT partner, but the service faded after a while. Whenever we had a problem, a different technician showed up, each with their own opinion. There was no clear long-term IT vision. We also often had to wait a long time for a response. That's why we went looking for a new IT partner specialised in Apple. That's how we ended up with Hi-T."
It clicked from the first meeting. Hi-T put forward an appealing plan of approach. Rik Jacques: "They started with a Hi-T Scan, a thorough audit of all our devices, focused on performance, continuity and security. Hi-T came on site and screened our entire IT infrastructure. What works well and what doesn't, what are the risks, which actions are needed? We received a detailed report with concrete recommendations, by priority. Based on that, we set up a Hi-T growth plan: an IT track in which we improved our infrastructure in three steps. The most urgent first, then the less pressing ones. We could spread this over several months, at our own pace and budget. Our system was almost 10 years old, so there were plenty of defects and programs that needed updating. By now we've renewed almost everything, and we can work with peace of mind."
Step one was replacing the server's data drives. Rik Jacques: "In a second phase, we moved from our physical mail server to a safer and more stable cloud service. Our mail server had crashed once, and we didn't want to go through that again. Step three was a number of smaller interventions. In one year, we evolved to a secure and stable infrastructure. Hi-T does all our IT. We trust them completely to manage and monitor everything continuously. They even handle our purchasing and installation. A full service like that is very convenient for us. We know something about computers, but not enough to solve major technical problems. We're not IT people ourselves. So it's handy to have someone behind you who knows your business and infrastructure well and can advise you properly."
Rik Jacques: "When we have a technical question today, we get an immediate response. That's a huge difference from before. And there's more: Hi-T also helps us proactively. Every quarter, someone comes by to check and update all devices and to solve our questions in one go. So we're sure we can keep working smoothly and safely, and avoid problems. Hi-T has everything we expect from an IT partner. Not only extensive knowledge and know-how, but also good availability, smooth communication and an excellent personal approach. That makes Hi-T a very pleasant and reliable partner that fits Pièce Montée perfectly."
