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Category: Information Tech

the reality of working in IT for the last decade

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How close are you to having everything online?

How close are you to having everything online?

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I sleep well at night knowing that virtually all of my personal information is stored online.  Really, the only personal data that is not permanently stored online are my photo albums and my music collection.  However, these files are backed up nightly to a remote online server (iDrive).  I know that I can move the last of my data online without too much effort, but I really do not see a benefit. I sleep better knowing that my documents are stored on some of the best storage arrays, operated…

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Is free software profitable in the long run?

Is free software profitable in the long run?

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Quicken reduced the cost of Quicken Online to free. This is great for consumers, but I have to ask myself why Intuit would make such a move. What does Intuit see that would cause them to move in this direction? Are some of the new online financial applications starting to take root and they see this as a move to fend off competition? If you are giving your product away free, while incurring costs, how exactly is this great for your business long-term? The only thing…

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Complex thinking on a simple problem, that had a simple solution

Complex thinking on a simple problem, that had a simple solution

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Frustrations abound in the world of IT, and to be successful in this industry you must have a high tolerance or a bit of love/hate for it. My old manager loved to remind us that if you do not get frustrated while bug hunting or troubleshooting, you just weren’t thinking hard enough.  At times I agree with him, and at times the hard thinking is the crux of the problem. If the principles of “KISS” (Keep It Simple Stupid) are forgotten, it could cost…

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Can exceptional service come back and haunt you later?

Can exceptional service come back and haunt you later?

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Several years ago, I suffered a plague of my own creation. We had pampered the employee base with such great service, they had taken our exceptional service level as the new base, or minimum, level of support. Employee “requests” became “demands” and my staff was being pushed around. What started out as a grand plan had became a support nightmare. I wanted to build the best IT support group the world had ever known; one they would write songs about. We implemented many changes…

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