The one to call for all your technology service needs
By Jillian Chandler
Photo by Alison Henslee
It was 1995 when Mike Cox, his wife Carey, and their children left Tigard, Oregon, for a better quality of life, settling in the beautiful and quiet town of Bonners Ferry to begin their next chapter.
With more than a decade of experience as a store director in retail grocery, with another four years as the director of quality at Hi-Tech Publications in Beaverton, Oregon, Mike was hired as the assistant manager by the owners of the Boundary Trading Co., while it was still under construction. After 10 years with Boundary Trading Co., Mike was offered the position of director of technology at the Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa, where he still remains today. Mike is also the proud owner of Cox Techs, which was established in 2005 as Onsite Computers.
When the Cox family first came to Bonners Ferry more than 25 years ago, according to Mike, there were few computer support options in Boundary County. With internet limited to dial-up speeds, remote support was not a reality. In 2005, that all changed with Onsite Computers. What began with a focus specializing in building new computers and repair, the company grew into designing, installing and managing office networks. Over the years, they have also added off-site data storage and backups, Wireless Bridges (connecting two points together) and security camera systems.
As the business expanded, Mike changed the name from Onsite Computers to Mike Cox Computers in 2016, and today, with the addition of his son Ryan to the business this past October, they have once again updated the name to reflect this change, and growth—Cox Techs.
“The core of our business has always been to support the technologies we offer our clients,” says Mike. “In person, or via remote connection, we are there to maintain the IT tools our customers depend on, and when there is an issue, we respond quickly and give our full service until the issue is resolved.”
Mike enjoys the services they are able to provide the local community through Cox Techs and finds great satisfaction in introducing current technologies to small and start-up businesses.
“For a business, the shine of a pretty new computer system wears off quickly, and the everyday dependability on the system takes over,” shares Mike. “That is where we shine … supporting individuals and businesses every day as their one call for technology solutions.”
Mike credits their customers—“one at a time”—to the success the business has seen over the years. “Word-of-mouth advertising has been the catalyst for our tremendous growth,” Mike smiles. “For the first 10 years, formal advertising or use of social media was not used. Recommendations provided by our customers to their friends and families brought Cox Techs to where we are today.”
Mike shares that longevity in this community has blessed his family both personally and professionally with a large circle of friends, and he couldn’t be more grateful for that.
From on-call remote support, custom computer builds, wireless systems and cameras to PC backups and storage service, and much more, look no further than Cox Techs in Bonners Ferry. Mike and Ryan are excited to announce that they now service the Sandpoint community as well.
Cox Techs
65 Echo Drive
Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805
208.946.0865