The A-Team of IT — and How To Assemble One

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Dan Tynan offers insights into building a crack special ops team ready to tackle the toughest IT assignments. From Air Support (think: the guy who shares a cigarette break with the CFO), to Infrastructure Sherpas, to Über Hackers (Mohawk optional), each of the seven essential members of your IT A-Team must bring his or her special blend of expertise, connections, and temperament to ensure the success of mission-critical assignments. 'Remember, there is no Plan B.'"

Comments

step 1

[thanasakis]

get a big cigar and practice saying "I love it when a plan comes together" while smoking it

Re:step 1

[fridaynightsmoke]

I'd just employ Moss, Roy and Jen.

TEAM players each and every one of them. There's no room for people who can't act as a team on my team.
TEAM! Team team team team team! I even love saying the word 'team'. You probably think that's a picture of my family, nyah-ah. It's The A-Team.

Re:step 1

[Average_Joe_Sixpack]

In 1992 a mediocre COBOL unit was sent to prison by a civilian court for a fraud they implemented but were oblivious to. These men eventually escaped from minimum security house arrest to the Des Moines suburbs. Today, still ignored by the government, they survive as free lance consultants.
If you have a mainframe - if no one else bids on the job - and they are all you can afford - you can definitly hire: The C-Team.

Wildcard

[DrugCheese]

Yeah I turned off all the environmental controls in the server room.

Wildcard, bitches! Yeeehaaw!!!

Re:It's a joke.

[spun]

Sure, you think it is a joke, but maybe they are just trying to hide from the federal government that is hunting them down for a crime they didn't commit!

I wonder what "The A Team" of IT would look like?

They would be unable or unwilling to kill any process, no matter how corrupt it had become.
They could build a Cray out of old disk drives and EISA cards, but if they tried to hack you they would accidentally hit the Pottery Barn right behind you.
Most of their proposed solutions would involve tossing someone or something onto or into something else.

A more realistic IT crew

[bl8n8r]

We have Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in Windows support. Bert and Ernie (both guys are gay) in the Mac Support dept and then Gonzo and Beaker in Unix/Linux systems department (one of them doubles as Oracle admin). They just hired a new IT manager, promoted from HR, who looks and acts a lot like Miss Piggy.

Re:A more realistic IT crew

[Anonymous Coward]

We have Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in Windows support. Bert and Ernie (both guys are gay) in the Mac Support dept and then Gonzo and Beaker in Unix/Linux systems department (one of them doubles as Oracle admin). They just hired a new IT manager, promoted from HR, who looks and acts a lot like Miss Piggy.

And where does Animal fit in in all of this?

Re:A more realistic IT crew

[locallyunscene]

And where does Animal fit in in all of this?

The client.

Dreamjob

[Anonymous Coward]

I call dibs on the midnight toker...

First rule of forming an A-Team of IT...

[Tetsujin]

First rule of making a team of this kind: You don't need a demolitions expert.

I know, you'd think any kind of team like this would need a demo man, but in fact, at least 80% of the time, high explosives are not the correct answer to your IT woes. This is the voice of experience talking.

Re:It's the A-ITeam

[Ukab the Great]

I pity the foo who bar baz