Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions about our IT management services. While this won’t answer all of your questions, it will at least fill in a few of the spaces. Contact Us with your questions. We’re always glad to help!

Who is ShareTech?

ShareTech is a professional IT management company which brings small and mid-size businesses a comprehensive IT solution through the innovative use of enterprise-caliber management tools and expert technicians to proactively manage your entire IT infrastructure for a single, fixed monthly fee. Read the ShareTech story.

How can ShareTech help my business?

ShareTech is an optimum solution for businesses with between 20 and 1000 PCs. Depending on the size and configuration of your business, one of three tracks will help you.

    1. The ShareTech Small Business Virtual IT solution. For businesses operating between 20 and 250 PCs, ShareTech provides a full-service, off-site, IT department to manage your network;
    2. ShareTech Mid-Size Business Desktop Services solution. For businesses operating between 250 and 1000 PCs, ShareTech understands that you likely already have a full IT department. ShareTech will work with your IT staff and handle your helpdesk and desktop issues
    3. ShareTech “IT Express” Hosted Services solution. For businesses looking for a slimmed-down IT solution, hosted services may be for you.

I’m starting a new business. How can ShareTech help me?

ShareTech will assume the role of your IT Coach advising you on hardware acquisition, network configuration and infrastructure design all in the context of your business model and goals. ShareTech has access to the most progressive and innovative technology providing creative solutions to your unique computing needs. From day one, you will have a complete enterprise-caliber IT department to ensure your business success.

What if my company already has an IT department?

Regardless of your current IT management style, ShareTech can help you. The magic is in the change. Several scenarios occur when companies with IT staff choose to partner with ShareTech:

    1. Companies with a greater number of PCs and servers ask ShareTech to manage their desktops and handle Level One helpdesk inquiries. This frees IT staff to engage in more strategic activities better utilizing their skill, time and salaries.
    2. Companies with two or three IT staff experience significant cost savings by reducing staff or reassigning staff to another part of the company and engaging ShareTech to manage their entire network while retaining one IT person to handle hardware issues.
    3. When comparing their costs with the low fees of outsourcing their IT management, companies with one or two IT staff reduce or reassign their personnel and cut their IT expense while adding overall value to their entire IT infrastructure.

We have a friend who is pretty sharp with computers. Is it a good idea for him to run our network?

Many companies use the services of a friend of the company, family or relative to fix their network when it breaks or even retain them as an employee. While such a reactive approach to computer and network repair is often cheap and nice for relationships, it’s usually deadly in the long-run for the network and often for the business. The traditional approach to network management is to wait for something to break and then fix it. That’s not management, and it certainly doesn’t have an eye to the well-being of the business, its clients and the bottom line.

ShareTech’s approach to management is entirely proactive taking into consideration your business model, resolving the root cause of network issues and monitoring servers to prevent breaks and failures. ShareTech’s proven IT management practices tuned for business success are unmatched by any computer repair company, consulting firm or one-man IT department. ShareTech management means optimum speed, power, capacity and productivity from your network leaving you to enjoy profits, satisfied clients and contented employees.

Why should I partner with ShareTech rather than a traditional computer repair or consulting company?

The difference is a total shift in approach. With traditional computer repair and consulting, service calls are usually reactive and motivated by a break, failure or a mounting level of frustration coupled by lost time and profits. These calls are inevitably followed by an invoice with a shocking number of time and materials charges. Most of us do better than that with our automobiles by keeping them tuned, lubed and clean.

The ShareTech model on the other hand is proactive and motivated by industry proven IT processes which insure optimum network performance and satisfied business goals. The ShareTech model of IT management includes all services necessary to maintain a powerful computer network. We don’t add charges for a list of services. Most breaks and failures are prevented. Time and profit loss is minimized, valuable hardware assets are protected. At the end of the month if your network experiences an issue, or your employees make helpdesk calls, your service fee is no greater than the previous month. </a

Why shouldn’t I just call my computer manufacturer for help?

In cases of hardware failure, that is exactly the right course of action. ShareTech recommends with all hardware acquisition that our clients purchase the manufacturer’s offered three-year warranty. It’s good value and is the fastest, cheapest fix with hardware breaks.

This, though, is where your computer manufacturer’s help ends – with hardware replacement. Hardware is only a small percentage of the enormous task of network management and only one facet of what can go wrong. ShareTech solutions maintain and manage every aspect of your network, processes and data and are prepared to confront any eventuality to keep your business prosperous.

If your hardware does break? Yes, we’ll sit on the phone with your manufacturer for you, launch your warranty into action and be sure your computer gets fixed. That’s what we do.

How do I purchase new hardware?

ShareTech is not in the hardware or software business. We focus on one thing – network management. Hardware acquisition, though, is a critical component of building an effective network that facilitates swift operation of your business. For that reason it’s important that we coach our clients in a careful construction of a hardware acquisition strategy – one that more than adequately meets your needs today as well as one that seamlessly facilitates sustained growth for your business and assimilates new technology. Our hardware and software standardization strategies build a sleek network enabling optimum capacity, flexible modification and expansion, and simple fixes.

What operating systems do you support?

ShareTech currently supports Windows 7/10 and Windows Server 2008/2012/2016/2019 and MacOS 11/10.5/10.14.

Can you provide broadband internet access?

In the same thinking as hardware, ShareTech isn’t in the telecom business. We are, however, acutely mindful of the fact that quality, reliable access to communications services is critical to sustain an effective IT infrastructure. For that reason, ShareTech proudly maintains partnerships with the best and most cost-effective of telecom companies. We facilitate mutually beneficial relationships for our clients with an eye to our clients’ business success.

How many service plans do I need?

You need one service plan for your network which describes the workstations and servers that we manage. While we manage peripheral hardware such as printers, copiers, faxes, switches, routers, phones and anything connected to your network, we do not charge you for the management of those components. Your monthly fee is based solely on the number of workstations and servers. As those numbers change, we will adjust your billing accordingly.

What if we need on-site support instead of remote or phone support?

ShareTech can completely resolve the vast majority of issues by telephone or remote access. Our Service Level Agreement describes our high level of commitment to not only issue resolution, but also its root cause. If our best effort at remote resolution does not solve the problem we will make an on-site service call. In addition, some maintenance procedures also require a visit to your location.

Is our company required to have an internet connection?

Yes. The nature of our service requires that your network have a high-speed, “always on” internet connection. Occasionally, to avoid employee interruption, we perform network maintenance at night when your workstations are not busy. Some of these procedures are automatic and all are remote, requiring high-speed internet.

What software applications do you support?

All ShareTech services support all Microsoft Office products, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook Express as well as many common applications used in business. For other applications not supported, we will give our best effort to resolve issues as well as work with your third-party application vendor for needed support.

Will you repair my computer hardware?

ShareTech does not provide hardware support as part of our flat fee network service. We do however attempt to resolve all issues up to the determination that hardware failure is involved. At the point we will work with your hardware vendor to obtain warranty support. If the component in question is not covered by warranty we can fix the problem on-site on a time and materials basis, arrange for you to retain a repair technician to make a call to your site, or coach someone from your company by phone to make simple component replacements.