Bring your own shit.....
So this guy makes the case that employees should be allowed and encouraged to bring their own computers (laptops) into the office:
Bring your own laptop
I work for a medium-sized business (300 users) that requires most of its employees to purchase their own computers (desktops and laptops) and that such computers on the corporate network must meet just a few minimum specs (basically XP Pro and Office 2003).
I've also worked for companies that provide computer equipment for its employees and don't allow any other computers on their corporate network.
I think the level of IT support is about the same for each, just different.
With my current employer, the problem is three-fold: employees are cheap; employees buy the wrong equipment; and employees fuck up their computers with non-work stuff. We're constantly fighting with agents who are too cheap to buy up-to-date equipment. One agent just this year complained that we should support Windows 98 still. Cheap employees will always make IT folks' lives difficult because they simply don't feel like IT equipment that is secure or keeps support costs down is their problem.
Right now, we have employees constantly buying the wrong equipment. Doesn't matter how clear we make it to them, they will buy the wrong stuff. Then they blame us. Or they expect us to buy the equipment for them and then seek reimbursement from them (uh... no). It's awkward to have to instruct a non-IT person on what to buy and often it fails. Not my problem, but that is the reality of it.
And lastly, our users are constantly fucking up their computers with non-work related stuff. Basically someone surfing websites they shouldn't be or using P2P stuff away from the office or the like. And then we get to clean it up. Happens all the time and it's a huge drain on resources.
But buying/providing equipment for employees is no party either:
Laptops get stolen. In the 15 months I have worked for my current employer, not one laptop has been stolen. In my 18 months at Nortel Networks, a laptop A WEEK was being stolen from just our own building. When people are financially responsible for their own stuff, they take care of it.
People constantly complain when they can't install their own applications. Or if their company-provided machine isn't exactly to their liking. Users often figure that they should be able to use their assigned-computer in whatever way they want away from the office.... which is bullshit. Don't like the rules about use of your company-owned computer when away from the office? Then use your own when away from the office.
And then there are people who want or demand that they be able to use their own personal computer in the office even if assigned a company-owned one. No matter what precautions you take, there will always be a hard-core group of employees who will demand use of their own computers on the corporate network. Unfortunately, this group of people often tends to be very vocal, too.
Half the time, employees will not like having to buy their own equipment, half the time employees will not like having to use company-owned equipment.
Again, though, from an IT support standpoint, it seems to me to be about the same amount of effort needed, just in different ways. Generally, computer users don't seem to take as much care or pay as much attention to their IT gear as they need to, whether it is theirs or the company's. Either way, most users depend on IT to fix the things they have fucked up... but probably shouldn't have been fucking with in the first place.
The problem when you have a dedicated IT staff is that people are just not as careful with their computers (theirs or the company's) as they would be if they had to solve their own computer problems. IT staffs everywhere spend WAY too much time and effort fixing problems that end users have caused because they were fucking around, letting their kids fuck around on their work computers, or just not paying attention.
But whatever, it's my job.
So this guy makes the case that employees should be allowed and encouraged to bring their own computers (laptops) into the office:
Bring your own laptop
I work for a medium-sized business (300 users) that requires most of its employees to purchase their own computers (desktops and laptops) and that such computers on the corporate network must meet just a few minimum specs (basically XP Pro and Office 2003).
I've also worked for companies that provide computer equipment for its employees and don't allow any other computers on their corporate network.
I think the level of IT support is about the same for each, just different.
With my current employer, the problem is three-fold: employees are cheap; employees buy the wrong equipment; and employees fuck up their computers with non-work stuff. We're constantly fighting with agents who are too cheap to buy up-to-date equipment. One agent just this year complained that we should support Windows 98 still. Cheap employees will always make IT folks' lives difficult because they simply don't feel like IT equipment that is secure or keeps support costs down is their problem.
Right now, we have employees constantly buying the wrong equipment. Doesn't matter how clear we make it to them, they will buy the wrong stuff. Then they blame us. Or they expect us to buy the equipment for them and then seek reimbursement from them (uh... no). It's awkward to have to instruct a non-IT person on what to buy and often it fails. Not my problem, but that is the reality of it.
And lastly, our users are constantly fucking up their computers with non-work related stuff. Basically someone surfing websites they shouldn't be or using P2P stuff away from the office or the like. And then we get to clean it up. Happens all the time and it's a huge drain on resources.
But buying/providing equipment for employees is no party either:
Laptops get stolen. In the 15 months I have worked for my current employer, not one laptop has been stolen. In my 18 months at Nortel Networks, a laptop A WEEK was being stolen from just our own building. When people are financially responsible for their own stuff, they take care of it.
People constantly complain when they can't install their own applications. Or if their company-provided machine isn't exactly to their liking. Users often figure that they should be able to use their assigned-computer in whatever way they want away from the office.... which is bullshit. Don't like the rules about use of your company-owned computer when away from the office? Then use your own when away from the office.
And then there are people who want or demand that they be able to use their own personal computer in the office even if assigned a company-owned one. No matter what precautions you take, there will always be a hard-core group of employees who will demand use of their own computers on the corporate network. Unfortunately, this group of people often tends to be very vocal, too.
Half the time, employees will not like having to buy their own equipment, half the time employees will not like having to use company-owned equipment.
Again, though, from an IT support standpoint, it seems to me to be about the same amount of effort needed, just in different ways. Generally, computer users don't seem to take as much care or pay as much attention to their IT gear as they need to, whether it is theirs or the company's. Either way, most users depend on IT to fix the things they have fucked up... but probably shouldn't have been fucking with in the first place.
The problem when you have a dedicated IT staff is that people are just not as careful with their computers (theirs or the company's) as they would be if they had to solve their own computer problems. IT staffs everywhere spend WAY too much time and effort fixing problems that end users have caused because they were fucking around, letting their kids fuck around on their work computers, or just not paying attention.
But whatever, it's my job.
posted by Tony Bags at 6:53 PM
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