Four Winds IT, a managed IT services provider serving businesses across Southwest Florida, announced today that Suncoast IT Consultants, LLC has joined the company. The move expands Four Winds' support of small and mid-sized businesses in Venice, Wellen Park, and southern Sarasota County.

Suncoast IT Consultants, led by founder Chris Kropilak, has provided IT support and consulting to businesses throughout the Venice and Wellen Park area, handling everything from day-to-day help desk requests to full office technology buildouts. Those clients are now supported by the Four Winds IT team, with access to round-the-clock network monitoring, managed cybersecurity, and an expanded help desk.

The combination reflects a broader shift in the small business technology market. Security requirements, cyber insurance standards, and compliance obligations that once applied only to larger organizations now reach businesses of every size, and meeting them takes infrastructure that independent providers are increasingly hard pressed to sustain alone.

"Chris built something real in South County, and the trust his clients have in him shows it," said Dylan Borden, Vice President of Operations at Four Winds IT. "Our job now is to earn that same trust. These businesses get the local, personal service they're used to, with a full team, 24/7 monitoring, and the security depth behind it that the environment demands today."

"After years of serving Venice, Sarasota, and Wellen Park, I wanted to be sure my clients would be taken care of well past my own tenure," said Chris Kropilak, founder of Suncoast IT Consultants. "Four Winds is local, they've been at this since 2014, and they bring resources I couldn't offer on my own. I'd encourage my clients to give them the same trust they've given me."

Suncoast clients do not need to take any action. Existing phone and email contacts continue to reach support during the transition, and the Four Winds IT team is reaching out to each client directly to make introductions and review their environment.

Four Winds IT now supports more than 300 businesses across Southwest Florida, from Tampa to Naples, and serves additional clients extending north into Georgia and across the Southeast. The company has operated in the region since 2014.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.