Ah... I see Tom has done some volunteer work with some non-profits. I might just have read him wrong. :-)
Many non-profits get by on shoe-string budgets - and even less for their IT department. I'm on the board of directors for one and I'm also part of the volunteer IT staff. Our local IT person started off as our Office receptionist (she's now the Office Manager). If she runs into a problem that she's either never seen before or can't figure out, she's got a list of people she can call or email. Over time, she's been volunteered to handle more things - like the phone system, email account setup, etc. She generally doesn't get involved in the server - although she does changes backup tapes (for now at least). Oh and just because she wears her "IT Hat" from time to time (it might be of the tin-foil variety, but I don't recall right now) doesn't mean the other duties she's involved with can slip. Our server currently uses RAID-1 (mirroring) since that at least affords us some replication in case a drive fails - which we saw a few years ago. But since we were running had mirroring setup, we were able to get the server up and running relatively quickly. In the past, almost all of our machines were donated - which meant we usually got the dregs other companies were throwing away. Over time, we've been able to get technology grants to buy new systems (PCs) and monitors but even with the prices of systems coming down and hard drives becoming cheaper and cheaper, we can't go out and buy all new toys. Generally speaking, grants are specific - to help with printing costs, to help with a consultant, but technology grants are still somewhat rare. As another example, a well-known non-profit that helps homeless that has several offices in California gets by with little to no formal IT budget. I've been called in to help out when their IT consultant couldn't figure things out but the idea of going out and spending money wasn't something they necessarily wanted to do. I still get calls from their office staff since they have no IT person in any of their local offices. I just refer them back to their local director who has dictated they can't afford to spend anything on IT problems and their users will just have to "get by". Larry -----Original Message----- From: Computer Guys Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tom Piwowar Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Replication (was Re: [CGUYS] Back ups on computer i >John, I really think that you've been at Mitre for so long that you >don't have any idea of what conditions are like for smaller >organizations, especially in non-profits. I'm lucky to get the money >to replace desktops right now. Im trying to conjure up a mental image of where Jeff works. My crystal ball reveals a snake pit worthy of Indiana Jones. Inch-thick coaxial ethernet cables slither and sparks leap out from behind hulking machinery. Giant disk drives give out a deafening whine. The scene is dimly lit by the flashing lights of ancient concentrators. Water drips from the ceiling. There is the odor of sulphur in the air. ************************************************************************ * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** ************************************************************************ * ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
