IT support for Fort Myers offices that have outgrown the server in the closet
Fort Myers is where Lee County keeps its offices: the practices along Colonial and Daniels, the construction firms building the county out, the warehouses off I-75 and around the airport. Most of them run on a server (the computer in the closet that holds the files) bought years ago, QuickBooks Desktop on one machine, and a move to Microsoft 365 that keeps getting postponed. Appluex is headquartered in Miami and runs its Southwest Florida work from Cape Coral, across the river, so a visit to your office in Fort Myers carries no travel charge, and every plan and fixed-price job is on this page before you call.
Established offices, and the old equipment that comes with them
Fort Myers is where a large share of Southwest Florida's businesses with a real office sit: medical and dental practices along Colonial, Daniels and Summerlin, often two or three locations under one owner; contractors, developers and engineering firms working the Lee County permit queue; freight and equipment dealers in the industrial parks off I-75 and around the airport; title companies and property managers near downtown. These are not three-person businesses on a canal. They are twelve, twenty-five, forty people, with a front desk, a billing office and a payroll that cannot stop.
Being established cuts both ways. A practice that has been on the same corner since 2009 usually still has the server that came with its practice software in a closet behind the break room, with the imaging on it and nobody sure when it was last backed up. A contractor with twenty people runs QuickBooks, the estimating software and the plan files from one desktop the office manager is afraid to restart. The copier stopped scanning to email in the spring and nobody knows why. Half the staff have email on an old system and the other half on Microsoft 365. And two dates are now on the calendar: SQL Server 2016, the database software under many practice systems, stopped getting security fixes on 14 July 2026, and Windows Server 2016, the server itself, stops on 12 January 2027.
The firms that would normally take this on are Fort Myers' own IT companies and the national franchises in town. They are good at what they do, but you cannot read a price from any of them. The franchises publish response-time promises, one of them "within one business day", and no prices, and none of the Southwest Florida providers we read one by one mentions Spanish. Managed Office is $149 per user, $134 if you prepay the year, with a minimum of five users, and it includes what elsewhere sits in a higher tier: every computer watched and kept updated, protection against break-ins on each one, email security, a backup of your Microsoft 365 or Google data, a password manager, the network equipment at the main office, after-hours cover for serious problems, and a two-hour response when one person cannot work. A server that stays in the office is $175 a month on top, and the plan includes a written proposal for retiring it.
What makes Fort Myers different from the Miami pages is the river. Appluex is headquartered in Miami and runs its Southwest Florida work from Cape Coral, fifteen minutes from downtown Fort Myers over the Caloosahatchee, so a visit to your office here is booked like a local one and billed like one, with no travel charge in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, Bonita Springs or Naples. Most work is still done remotely and faster for it. But moving a server, a copier that will not take the new sign-in, a practice moving into a second suite, or the backup internet connection we install in May and June before hurricane season need someone on site, and the someone is across the bridge rather than across the state.
Fort Myers IT is quoted after the visit and almost nobody publishes a price. Managed Office is a figure you can read, with the server line, the response times and the Spanish written down beside it.
The complete list, with every variation and every hourly rate, is the full rate card
Pick by headcount and by how much of the office you want run for you
Support wages in Fort Myers run about eight percent below Miami's; these prices do not move with the city. Licences, hardware and phone carrier fees are billed at cost and never sit inside a price.
Help Desk Micro
$299a month, flat
Covers 1 to 5 users, and users 6 to 10 are $59 each. Month to month with 30 days' notice; setup free once you stay 3 billed months, otherwise $299. The plan for a satellite office or a small firm near FGCU.
- Unlimited remote help in business hours, in English and Spanish
- Your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace accounts looked after
- New hires set up, leavers closed out the same day
- 4-hour response when one person cannot work
- Security package available as an add-on at $39 per user
Managed Office
$149per user a month
Minimum 5 users. Prepay 12 months and it is $134 per user; the setup fee is waived on a 12-month agreement, and is due plus one month's fee if you end it early. For the practice, contractor or warehouse office that cannot stop.
- Everything in Help Desk Micro
- Every computer watched and kept updated, in the office and on the job site
- Software on each computer that spots a break-in and stops it
- Email security, and a backup of your Microsoft 365 or Google data
- Password manager for the whole office
- The internet box, the network box and the Wi-Fi at the main location, included
- Serious problems looked at after hours
- 2-hour response when one person cannot work
- A review every quarter, one named person to call, and the server retirement plan in writing
Co-managed help desk
$79per user a month
For the Fort Myers firm that already employs an IT person and wants a help desk behind them for day-to-day requests, documentation and overflow.
- Remote help desk for staff, English and Spanish
- Your IT person stays in charge of the setup and the vendor relationships
- Requests logged and written up, after-hours overflow covered
- No security package included; it can be added at the Micro add-on rate
- Projects quoted separately on every plan
A user is a named person with a company sign-in and up to 3 devices. A shared front-desk, operatory or warehouse computer is $45 a month, a server in the office $175, a network storage box (NAS) $75, and a second location on Managed Office $99 a month. Every variation is on the rate card.
The eight jobs Fort Myers offices ask for most
Ranked by how often an established Fort Myers office asks for them. Each has a published price, and none needs a site visit to read.
The practice server, before January 2027
Classic Dentrix, Eaglesoft, self-hosted Open Dental and many medical practice systems sit on Windows Server 2016, which stops getting security fixes on 12 January 2027. We write down the three routes, the vendor's cloud edition, a server we host for you, or a replacement, with a fixed price on each. Meanwhile the old one is watched, updated and backed up at $175 a month.
A contractor's office on Microsoft 365, with the field on tablets
Plans, submittals, photos and daily logs in SharePoint (Microsoft's shared file storage) instead of on one desktop, construction software such as Procore and Bluebeam supported on the plan, and field tablets managed so a lost one is wiped remotely rather than reported. Managing a 10-computer office with Intune is $1,795; files off the server from $1,295.
Finishing the Microsoft 365 move that stalled
Half the office on an old email system or GoDaddy mail and half on Microsoft 365 is the most common state we find in Fort Myers. The move is $395 plus $110 a mailbox, with leaving GoDaddy and large archive mailboxes priced per item, and the switch done after hours so the front desk never notices.
The copier that stopped scanning to email
Microsoft is turning off the old sign-in method most copiers use at the end of 2026, and practices with a scanner in every hallway are finding out one device at a time. First device $175, each extra $75, or scanning straight into a shared folder for $95.
QuickBooks Desktop on the office manager's computer
Intuit discontinued the 2023 edition in May 2026 and sets a new price for the supported ones each year. For a contractor whose job costing lives there, we back it up in week one and then lay out the choices with the cost of each written down: host it on a server we look after, move to QuickBooks Online, or keep it on a current version. Your bookkeeper's view counts.
A warehouse office near the airport on one network
The office, the dock, the handheld scanners and the yard camera the installer put in, on one network set up by one party. The internet box, the network box and the Wi-Fi at the main location are included on Managed Office; a second yard or branch is $99 a month. Cable runs stay with a licensed contractor.
Email that cannot be forged, for draw requests and statements
A contractor's pay application or a practice's patient statement sent by a stranger from your address is the fraud that lands in Lee County offices. For $695 per domain we set the three email settings (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) that prove an email really came from you, with 3 months of monitoring included.
A powerful computer for the engineer, the imaging room or the estimator
A Pro build for engineering software such as Civil 3D and Revit, or large survey files, is $995 with a 3-year labour warranty; a Studio build for imaging review, marketing and drawing work is $595 with 2 years. Parts at cost plus a published sourcing fee, the quote valid 72 hours because part prices move, delivered and set up at the desk in Fort Myers.
The twelve jobs a Fort Myers office is most likely to need
Fixed prices, done remotely unless the row says otherwise, and work begins only after your written approval.
| Files moved from the server to the cloud, up to 10 users and 100 GBTo SharePoint (Microsoft's shared file storage) or Google Drive. Then $150 per extra 100 GB and $49 per extra user. Copying from a server in your office adds $195; doing the switch after hours $195. | $1,295 |
|---|---|
| Email moved to Microsoft 365, project feePlus $110 per mailbox. Very large mailboxes, archives and old Outlook archive files are priced per item on the rate card. | $395 |
| Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup, up to 5 usersThen $49 per user. Taking over a Microsoft 365 account nobody has been managing $95; leaving the Microsoft 365 bundled with a GoDaddy plan $395. | $795 |
| Retiring an old server during a clean-upData checked against its new home, the machine wiped and the line gone from the monthly bill. Supporting a server that stays is $175 a month. | $495 |
| Office computers managed from one place, 10 computers (Intune)Intune is Microsoft's tool for setting up, locking and wiping company computers remotely. Then $45 per extra computer. Phones and tablets from $395 plus $25 per device. | $1,795 |
| Security basics, up to 10 usersThen $29 per user to 25. A phone code on every sign-in (MFA), rules that block sign-ins from odd places, shared mailboxes closed to outsiders. The phone code alone $395. | $995 |
| Scanner or copier email fix, first device$75 each extra device, $95 to scan straight into a shared folder instead. Microsoft is turning off the sign-in method most copiers use at the end of 2026. | $175 |
|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 security check-upWritten findings in plain English, credited against the fix if you book it within 60 days. | $395 |
| Email locked so nobody can send as youPer domain (your email address ending), including 3 months of monitoring, afterwards $35 a month. Nobody can send a draw request or a patient statement from your address. | $695 |
| Locked-out administrator account recoveredWhen the Microsoft or Google administrator login belongs to a vendor or an employee who left. $150 is kept if the provider refuses to hand it over. | $395 |
| New computer setupRemote. $275 at your office in Fort Myers, no travel charge. Up to 100 GB brought over from the old machine. | $175 |
| Setting up a new hireAccounts, computer, phone and the practice or project software, ready on day one. Closing out someone who leaves $99: access closed the same day. | $129 |
This is a selection. The full rate card at /it-services/pricing lists every job, every hourly rate and every variation, including the per-item add-ons for moves to Microsoft 365. A visit to your office in Fort Myers is $150 an hour with a one-hour minimum and no travel charge.
What the first month looks like for a Fort Myers office
The monthly fee waits until setup is finished. Help Desk Micro sets up free if you stay 3 billed months; Managed Office charges one month of the plan fee for it, waived on a 12-month agreement. Every plan ends with 30 days' notice.
The walk-through, across the bridge
We come to the office, with no travel charge in Fort Myers, and leave with an inventory: every computer, the server and what runs on it, each copier, every account, web address and renewal, and who holds the password for each. In an established office this list lives in three people's heads; by the end of week one it is on paper, in your name.
Backups first, ownership second
Before anything else changes, the server and QuickBooks get a backup we have tested, because moving anything without one is a bet. Then your web address, your Microsoft or Google account and the administrator logins are moved into the business's name. If a former IT vendor or the practice software reseller still holds any of them, getting them back is a published job.
Our software on, the server plan written
Our monitoring and protection software goes onto every machine, including the server while it lasts. Anything unsafe (no phone code on sign-in, shared logins, a copier on a retired sign-in, a 2016 server with no plan) goes on a written clean-up list with its published price next to it. The server retirement plan, with its three routes and three prices, is dated before 12 January 2027.
Front desk, billing and field know who to call
A short session in English or Spanish, by role: the front desk learns the two-minute path for a frozen screen, the billing office learns what to do with a suspicious wire email, the field learns the tablet. From this point the written response times apply: one hour for a serious outage, and two or four hours for a single person who cannot work, by plan.
Billing starts, the first report arrives
Billing starts the day setup closes and not a day earlier. From the first month you get a report of every request and the real response times against the written promises. The quarterly review carries the server plan, the Microsoft 365 move and, in May and June, the hurricane readiness check.
Why a Fort Myers office picks Appluex
Fifteen minutes away, with no travel charge
Appluex is headquartered in Miami and runs its Southwest Florida work from Cape Coral, across the Caloosahatchee from downtown Fort Myers. A visit in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples is $150 an hour with no trip charge, everywhere else the work is remote, and a server move or a copier visit is booked on the same call that diagnosed it.
A published price in a market that quotes after the visit
Fort Myers quotes after the visit and almost nobody prints a figure; the franchises print response promises instead. Every plan, variation and job here is a number you can read before you call, in English and in Spanish, and the monthly report shows the response times against the promise.
A software company that also runs the office
When the practice software needs to talk to the billing portal, or the estimating software to QuickBooks, or the dispatcher needs a bilingual form on a tablet, the answer is built rather than bought from a fifth vendor. The website, the email, the phones and the computers are one relationship.
IT support in Fort Myers. FAQ
Do you come to our office in Fort Myers?
Yes. We are based in Cape Coral, across the river from downtown Fort Myers, so a visit anywhere in the city, from the Colonial corridor to Gateway, San Carlos Park, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers Beach or the industrial parks by the airport, carries no travel charge. Most problems are fixed remotely in minutes, which is faster than waiting for anyone to drive; when a server, a copier or a move needs hands, the visit is $150 an hour with a one-hour minimum, booked on the same call.
Where do you visit in person, and what about Punta Gorda or LaBelle?
In-person visits are offered in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples, with no travel charge in any of them, which in Fort Myers covers everything from the Colonial corridor to Gateway, the airport, Lehigh Acres and Fort Myers Beach. Everywhere else, including Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, LaBelle and Moore Haven, we work remotely, which is how most problems are fixed anyway: we connect to the computer, the server or the Microsoft 365 account and fix it with you on the call. Remote work costs the same wherever the office is.
Our practice software runs on a server in the office. Can you support it, and do we have to replace it before January 2027?
Yes, we support it, and no, you have to decide before January, not necessarily replace. A server in the office is covered on Managed Office at $175 a month for monitoring, updates, protection and checking the backups. The date that matters is 12 January 2027, when Windows Server 2016 stops getting security fixes; SQL Server 2016, the database software under many practice systems, already stopped on 14 July 2026. After those dates the machine becomes the softest spot in the office. During setup we write the plan with three routes and a fixed price on each: the vendor's cloud edition, a server we host for you, or a replacement in the office, with the imaging and the connections tested before anything is switched. Moving just the files to the cloud starts at $1,295 for 10 users and 100 GB. Retiring the old machine once its data has a tested new home is $495.
We are a general contractor with twenty people and a field crew. What does the plan actually cover?
Every computer in the office and every laptop and tablet in the field, watched, updated and protected; Microsoft 365 looked after, with a shared file area set up so plans, submittals and daily logs stop living on one desktop; construction software such as Procore and Bluebeam and your estimating program supported; phones and tablets managed so a lost one is wiped within the hour; email security and backup; a password manager; and the internet box, network box and Wi-Fi at the main office. QuickBooks Desktop gets a tested backup in week one and a written plan after that. Managed Office is $149 per user, with field tablets counted among a user's three devices.
What do you do about hurricane season?
For an established office the biggest risk is the server in the closet, so the first job, in May and June, is making sure your files, email, phones and, where the vendor allows it, the practice or project system live in the cloud and not only in a building that may lose power or flood. Second, we add a cellular or satellite second internet connection that takes over on its own. Third, we write and test a one-page plan for the day the office is not usable: who calls whom, where staff log in from, how the phones ring, and for a practice, how patients are reached. Ian and Milton made the argument; our job is to have it done before August.
Do you work in Spanish?
Yes, on every plan and at no extra charge. Support is in English and Spanish from the same desk, and the training, documents and monthly report are written in whichever language the office runs in. Many Fort Myers front desks, field crews and warehouse teams work in Spanish, so a billing clerk who thinks in Spanish can describe the problem in Spanish to the person who fixes it, and the crew's session in week three is given in the language the crew speaks.
Can you run cable, hang cameras or wire the new suite we are moving into?
No, and no Appluex proposal will ever say otherwise. Cabling, cameras, door access, alarms and anything electrical are licensed trades in Florida. We refer a licensed low-voltage contractor who contracts with you directly, and we coordinate so the outlets they install land on the network we set up. What we do handle is the internet box, the network box and the Wi-Fi at your main office, included on Managed Office, and the plan for moving every desk, phone and printer so the new suite works on the first morning.
How do you compare with the Fort Myers IT companies and the franchises?
On paper, which is the only honest way. The established local firms and the franchises quote after a visit, and the franchise pages promise response times, one of them within a business day, without a price. Managed Office is $149 per user, $134 prepaid, with a two-hour response for a person who cannot work written into the agreement and reported against monthly. Ask each firm for the same list of inclusions at your actual headcount and set the proposals beside this page.
Our copier stopped sending scans to email. Is that something you fix remotely?
Usually, yes. Most copiers and scanners still sign in to the email system with a plain username and password, and Microsoft is turning that method off at the end of 2026, so devices are failing one at a time across Fort Myers offices. We reconfigure the first device for $175 and each additional one for $75, or set it to scan straight into a shared folder for $95, which practices with a scanner at every station tend to prefer. A software update on the copier itself, when the model needs one, is $75.
We have Microsoft 365 but the previous IT company set it up and still has the administrator login. Can you take it over?
Yes, and it is the first thing we fix, because an account someone else controls is not yours. Recovering a locked-out administrator login is $395, of which $150 is kept if the former provider refuses to cooperate and we have to go through Microsoft. Taking over an account that was never properly managed is $95. Once the administrator role, the web address and the recovery details are in the business's name, with the owner holding them, the Managed Office setup continues from there.
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