Off the Fence (OTF) is an award-winning production and distribution company specialising in non-fiction content. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices in Bristol, London, and Toronto, OTF focuses on creating, acquiring, and distributing factual programming.

The company gained global recognition for its Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, which won an Academy Award.

Their in-house production capabilities and collaborations with international producers allow them to deliver world-class content across diverse genres.

Their Bristol-based team is expanding facilities to include cutting-edge editing suites and sustainable practices, aligning with the evolving demands of the global market.

IT Support
Fast Response Times
Smooth Onboarding

The Challenge

Before partnering with Systemagic, Off the Fence faced IT challenges that risked disruption to their day-to-day operations. One of the biggest incidents was a local power surge over a weekend, which knocked out power and caused downtime, costing valuable time and resources. At the time, their IT support came with logistical challenges as they weren’t a local company, and it took two days for the issue to be fully resolved. These delays were compounded by ongoing issues like unstable Wi-Fi, which regularly caused disruptions to their workflow.

Off the Fence decided to transition away from this arrangement and to partner with a more local IT provider. This in itself was a huge and time-consuming project, but it helped them address some of their immediate issues and complete necessary projects to secure and modernise their systems.

However, this provider was then acquired by a larger IT firm, and unfortunately Off The Fence was not a large enough business to remain a priority client. This led Off The Fence to seek a new partner, and that’s where we came in.

Why Did You Choose Systemagic?

When Off the Fence was looking for a new IT partner, they had a clear vision of what they wanted – a company that could provide not just technical expertise but also align with their values and priorities.

From the very beginning, Systemagic stood out.

During our initial meetings, Off The Fence were impressed with James and Fiona’s genuine passion for understanding their business and crafting solutions tailored to their unique challenges.

This passion, paired with our track record of quick response times, gave Off The Fence confidence that we could resolve issues efficiently and minimise disruptions.

Beyond technical capabilities, they found that our values closely aligned with theirs, making the partnership feel natural.

Perhaps most importantly, Off The Fence have shared that they’ve felt genuinely cared for since working with us.

From thoughtful gestures to regular check-ins, they know we are as invested in their success as they are.

Our Impact

Although we’re still rolling out some of our solutions, Off The Fence is already seeing great benefit in our partnership.

By taking IT responsibilities off their internal team, we’re freeing up their staff to focus on their core work.

With more reliable systems and prompt support in place, they’ve experienced fewer disruptions and are on track for smoother operations going forward.

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“After being “let go” by our existing IT support company for being a “low spend” client, we had to find a very specific team to deal with our unusual infrastructure. The two sides of our business have very different needs. Our production arm is mostly self-sufficient, with day-to-day queries and issues being dealt with in house, whilst the postproduction team have much more complex requirements. From the outset, the fit between ourselves and Systemagic was perfect, they carefully considered our needs and provided us with a bespoke solution which we have never had the luxury of before. The onboarding process was absolutely seamless, and the follow up care since this has been second to none - and something that we have never experienced with previous suppliers.”
Laura Jackson

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