Here is the the scenario:
You work in an IT department, that does both internal and external support. Everyone seems to do a bit of everything, but internally you have no real direction. Do you hit up your boss to put one person in charge of the internal network (which also supports other divisions of the company) or do you let things be?
This is a problem many of us seem to face, especially in this day and age where we in IT are being asked to do more with less. Its not a pleasant scenarios either. Maybe one person used to be in charge of the internal network. Maybe things were just cobbled together without any forethought, and those people are gone from the company. Maybe only one person has knowledge of a few key systems and isn’t willing to share that information, mostly due to the feeling that it gives them job security.
The problem is that, you would not put up with this for external clients. There is always a point man, and always documentation so that others can help out when the primary contact is not around. You always have 1 person do the main design, and while they might ask for help or ideas, it is their baby. So I feel, should it be internally. An old Asian adage says, “As it is within, so shall it be without.” This is originally thought of as how you are internally, so shall it be for you externally (at peace, at war, etc…), but it is also true in a corporate environment. Best practices start internally.
In this day and age, the IT consultant can’t only be for external clients. You really need to be a consultant to your own company also. Yes it might mean stepping outside your comfort zone and talking to upper management about things. Yes it might mean having to fight for small gains. In the end we are the ones who are supposed to be the IT gurus. We just need to act it, and do it respectfully.
What do you think?