Greg Sevart wrote:
Absolutely true, though I have worked in corporate environments.
Companies that use such a limited set of apps and impose serious
restrictions also kill off creativity, too. Probably why corp America
is
such a mess these days.
Oh, make no mistake--I have no desire to clamp things down that far. I want
users to have measures of control. I want them to customize their machines
and use tools and utilities that help them perform their work. This just has
to be balanced with the needs of the corporation. This should be considered
not only in terms of ensuring productivity...but also legal liability and
security. Another member has touched on security--any device touching the
network has the potential to compromise security. I think that one is pretty
self-explanatory.
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Legal liability is a big one. Illegally acquired music or software on a
user's machine puts the entire firm at legal risk. We're charged, among
other things, to ensure that the firm isn't out of license compliance and
does not harbor copyrighted material. This does mean that we have to impose
some measure of control.
It's a delicate balance and a definite challenge. Does my position sometimes
put me at odds with users? Yes, at times. But, frankly, IT is charged to be
an enabler of corporate objectives while simultaneously protecting said
corporation. Sometimes that is contrary to what the user would prefer.
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This is an area of your responsibility that I total respect and get.
However, as a user, I feel an obligation of my own not to do things that
put my company at legal risk and also consider this a potential way to
lose my job. I frankly wonder how many people in corp. American don't
get this by now? I'm sure some of the smaller shops might find it
necessary to cut corners and steal software, but how many bigger shops
can afford it? One pissed off employee and game over!
Interestingly, I've found that users are most frustrated when their machines
are unstable (for whatever reason), vs. being restricted from installing
some software, or downloading some music.
Well, if they are locked down tightly they are doing much of the latter,
so naturally they get pissed when the former occurs! :)
Anyway, I'm done. I do get the point of your jobs. I was just going done
memory lane a bit.
