Will it work in a shared web hosting environment?

Will this module work in a shared web hosting environment?

Our IT guy gave me this answer when I asked him to set up the helper app PDFTOTXT: "In order to use the pdftotext, it needs to have scripts to access it. It also requires access to the "root shell" of the server. This needs to take place on a dedicated server or virtual server. Which would then require a separate support system than already in place."

He reports PDFTOTXT is installed at /usr/bin/pdftotxt but I guess Drupal is not able to access it. I keep getting the message "Can't find helper app ... please verify it is installed".

We installed version 5.x-4-dev.

I'm leading the charge to convert our website to Drupal. Our IT guy has limited knowledge of its workings at this point.

Thanks.