The Network Gurus provides IT support and managed IT for franchise auto dealerships in Sarasota and Southwest Florida: sales, F&I, service and parts networks, DMS workstations, phones, cybersecurity, and FTC Safeguards Rule compliance, from a local team that works around your store hours.
A dealership is four businesses on one network
Sales runs on the CRM and desking tools. F&I runs on credit portals and lender integrations and holds the most sensitive customer data in the building. Service runs on the DMS, shop tablets and diagnostic equipment. Parts runs on lookup systems and inventory. All four share a network, a phone system and an internet connection, and all four stop when any one of them does.
We support franchise dealerships across Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties with one local team that knows how those pieces fit, and one plan that covers all of them.
What a bad IT day costs a store
A down DMS on a Saturday means deals that can't be funded, ROs that can't be opened and customers waiting in the lounge. A phone system that drops calls means the BDC's appointments go to the store down the road. A breach in F&I means notification letters, a report to the FTC and a very hard conversation with the manufacturer.
That's why our focus is keeping the store open: monitored internet with failover, a network that's segmented so one problem doesn't spread, and a technician on the phone in about 2 minutes when something does go wrong.
What we manage on the lot
- Network and internet: showroom, offices and service bays, with a backup connection that takes over automatically
- Workstations: sales, F&I, service and parts, with DMS and CRM clients set up and patched after hours
- Segmentation: F&I, customer Wi-Fi, shop equipment and the manufacturer's systems kept apart
- Wi-Fi: coverage that reaches the back of the shop and the lot, for tablets and diagnostic tools
- Phones: 3CX with sales and service queues, BDC routing, call recording and after-hours rules
- Security: endpoint detection, email security and MFA on every account that can reach customer data
- Vendor access: controlled and logged access for DMS, CRM, lender and equipment vendors
- Backups: local servers and critical exports, encrypted and tested by restoring them
The F&I office gets extra attention
F&I holds credit applications, Social Security numbers and bank details for every financed deal. It's the first place an attacker looks and the first place the Safeguards Rule looks too. We lock it down with individual logins, MFA on lender portals and the DMS, encrypted storage for scanned deal jackets, and a printer and scanner setup that doesn't drop credit apps into a shared folder. How we secure the F&I office.
Gaps we find in almost every store
- A shared F&I login, or a password on a sticky note in the desk
- Credit applications scanned to a folder anyone in the building can open
- Customer Wi-Fi on the same network as the DMS
- Former salespeople who still have CRM and email access
- No MFA on the DMS or lender portals
- Nobody named as the Safeguards Rule's qualified individual
- Email that anyone can spoof, because the store's domain has no DMARC record
The FTC Safeguards Rule, handled
Every dealership that arranges financing is covered. The rule requires MFA, encryption, access controls, monitoring, a written risk assessment, vendor oversight, staff training, an incident response plan and annual reporting. We provide the technical controls in the managed plan and the assessment, documentation and evidence through the compliance add-on. What the rule means for your store, and exactly what we do.
Phones that sell cars
Missed calls are missed appointments. We run 3CX for dealerships with separate sales, service and parts queues, BDC routing, call recording for coaching, and after-hours rules that send service calls where they belong. As a 3CX Silver Partner, we monitor every system we manage around the clock.
Multi-rooftop groups
Groups with stores in Sarasota, Bradenton and Port Charlotte run on one agreement, one phone system, one security policy and one portal, with technicians routed to each location and reporting per rooftop.
What working with us looks like
- Free dealership IT assessment. An on-site walk-through before opening or after close, and a written report of what's solid and what to fix first.
- A straight quote within one business day. Estimate your monthly cost in 30 seconds first if you like.
- Onboarding around your sales calendar. Urgent gaps closed in the first two weeks, with the DMS provider and your other vendors coordinated so the floor doesn't notice the switch.
- Ongoing support from local technicians who know your store, with calls answered in about 2 minutes and most requests resolved the same day.
Prefer to talk first? Book a 15-minute call with Evan.