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How To Thwart the High Priests In IT
GMGruman writes "You know the type: They want to control and restrict any technology in your office, maybe for job security, maybe as a power trip. As the 'consumerization of IT' phenomenon grows, such IT people are increasingly clashing with users, who bring in their own smartphones, use cloud apps, and work at home on their own equipment. These 'enemies' in IT are easy to identify, but there are subtler enemies within IT that also aim to prevent users from being self-sufficient in their technology use. That's bad for both users and IT, as it gets in the way of useful work for everyone. Here's what to look for in such hidden IT 'enemies,' and how to thwart their efforts to contain you."
Guess what?
When you call it "my corporate network", you have defined yourself as the exact IT staff users complain about. It's not your network, unlesss you own the corporation itself. It is the company's network. And your toils in the back office contribut zero to the bottom line. Sure you keep things up and running, but you're not making the products, or out there selling them. Therefore, you're job is wholly dependent on your ability to let the breadwinners of the company do what they do best. If they find they feel more comfortable on an iPad, your job isn't to defend "your" network from an unsanctioned device. Your job is to make sure the device works, so that the employee who is generating the dollars that pay your salary and benefits can continue to do so.
Really. You called it "my corporate network". As if it's more yours than any other employees.
Any company that doesn't realize this and enforce that attitude upon the staff is doomed. IT is not some sacred bastion. It's just a supporting roll. And no group should claim ownership of company resources. Those are, after all, the companies. Your job is to make sure they work. Because if the CEO comes in with a new device, I don't know about you, but I've never known it was an option to tell him "no, you have to go return that" if it was at all possible it would e made to work. And if their iPad or android tablet can work for them, it should be a no brainer that any other employee in the enterprise that requires remote email access should be able to use the same.
Again. You really called it "my" network. Astounding.