Hawaii Tech Support: A Guiding Force

In a fast-changing world, HTS focuses on partnerships to keep clients supported and thriving.

“Technology touches every part of a company,” says Stan Lau, founder and CEO of Hawaii Tech Support. That’s why his company works with small-to medium-sized businesses on everything from infrastructure and cybersecurity to accounting systems and onboarding and offboarding employees.

“Help is the word I use most often with our team,” Lau says. “We’re here to help each other and we’re here to help our clients.” His business’s success, he says, is founded on trust, support for the community and a proactive approach.

A graduate of Pearl City High School, Lau earned his computer science degree at UCLA. He founded HTS in 2004, when he was 26, at first working out of his apartment’s living room.

“This was the earlier days of tech, when a lot of it was less accessible. I wanted to bring a lot of the things I had experienced in Los Angeles back to Hawaiʻi to work with small businesses.”

HTS has grown to 16 employees today, with two offices on Oʻahu and clients across the state. Lau prefers to call them “client-partners,” and they support a variety of sectors, including professional services, health care, nonprofits, architecture, engineering and construction.

Christine Camp, president and CEO of real estate development firm Avalon Group, was HTS’ first client-partner; she later nominated the tech company for the SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Awards.

In her nomination, Camp wrote: “We trust Hawaii Tech Support to successfully transition and manage the technology for every new property we’ve taken over. Their team handles each handover smoothly, stabilizing systems quickly and ensuring operations continue without disruption. Their proactive support and deep industry knowledge give us confidence every time we expand our portfolio.”

HTS also devotes time and resources to fostering new tech talent in the Islands. For example, it conducts workshops, seminars and mock interviews with students in Pearl City High School’s Academy of Technology and Design. The company also partners with UH Mānoa on the Leap-Start program, which prepares college students for careers in IT.

Lau says HTS is ramping up AI and automation support for clients. For example, the company has developed an AI readiness assessment for client-partners.

“Our view is that AI is not meant to displace people,” he says. “It’s meant to enhance what we do. If AI is done right, we should expect things like consistency, efficiency and accuracy. It can help people do what they already do, but better.”