Fast, Friendly IT Help — No Techno-Babble at Sandra Network

Sandra Network

Owner: Sandra Batakis

Sandra Batakis is an admitted computer geek, which works out great for her customers. The company she originated — SJB Enterprises — back in 1994, began with a handful of regular customers receiving IT support services and has since blossomed into Sandra Network, a full IT department supporting networks of small- to medium-sized local businesses.

This business owner, who is also a busy mother of four children: Steven, 15, Alexis, 13, and twins Ashley and Samantha, 10, is a successful multi-tasker. Batakis, with husband Alan, lives in Peabody and maintains her busy household, holds membership with both the North Shore and Peabody Area Chambers of Commerce, and is a Notary, all while simultaneously supporting networks for dozens of North Shore businesses. Batakis is also a certified Microsoft trainer, with a full library of training videos for MS Applications.

Sandra Network offers a full menu of services for all manner of technical needs from online remote support, to Web site development and maintenance, to hands-on Microsoft training for business executives and their employees.

Peabody Patch caught up with Batakis to find out more about the woman behind the business, and to find out what new things are happening at Sandra Network.

Q: You are from Maine, originally, and attended Burdett School for Retail. How did you come to live in Peabody?

A: I was working in the Boston area right out of college and met my now husband. I moved to Peabody to be with him.

Q: How did you get into the IT industry?

A: Simply put, like many college graduates, you wake up one day and say “I am not sure I made the right choice in school.” While debating what to do next, someone put a computer on my desk and I never stopped. I still remember the day I got to go to a class for Excel. This is back when Excel was at version one, and the biggest monitor was 7 inches. The instructor was very unclear about a lot of things and during that class I made the decision to change careers. I was training full-time within months.

Q: What types of services does Sandra Network provide?

A: Sandra Network prides itself on being a full IT department for small- and medium-sized businesses. These businesses have enough on their plate to start troubleshooting issues. By having one point of contact for e-mail, web, workstations and servers, it makes their work day a little easier.

If there is a question on a message that has appeared on the screen, with a quick phone call to our technician, we can connect to their system (through Remote Support), and walk them through the questions. No more waiting for an on-site technician, or waiting for “scheduled maintenance.”

Q: What makes Sandra Network different from other IT support companies?

A: Simply names and faces. I run a company that not only knows what it is doing when it comes to IT support, but we take the time to get to know everyone in the company. Each user needs and understands things at different levels, and we try to cater to them at that level.

Q: What kind of feedback do you get from your clients?

A: Clients appreciate the level of support and responsiveness. Frequently we hear “it is so nice to work with computer help that speaks English to us instead of techno-babble.”

Q: What’s new this year for Sandra Network?

A: Training videos. I currently have close to 200 videos out worldwide on all aspects of software and networking. Until recently, these videos were only available in training centers or through specific distributors. All videos are now available at a substantial discount directly from Sandra Network. Videos range from Microsoft Office all the way thru Systems and Network Engineering.

Sandra Network is located on the Web at www.SandraNetwork.com or you can check it out on Facebook and Twitter, as well as on YouTube.978-535-0202.