Stacy's Tech Blog

As a consultant, I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing and assessing technology infrastructures.  Usually this is a site readiness assessment for a specific technology or service implementation, but sometimes it’s a request by an executive team to provide a report card on staff or infrastructure to ensure that they are getting the best “bang for their buck”.

I have noticed a few things along the way.

One is that many businesses have quite a variety of hardware and software technologies in place and it appears, at first glance, to be a complete hodgepodge of barely integrated technologies that supposedly support a specific task for the business.  I call this phenomenon “Ad Hoc Networking”.  And most organizations have such a network.

In fact, I’ve frequently left a client site asking how much time, effort and money is spent managing such a network? 

Managing a network is much like owning a garage.  It’s intended purpose is to provide a place to park your car.  But often, you begin to store things like gardening equipment, holiday decorations, etc.  After a while, it becomes more difficult to open the car door and if left unchecked, you eventually find yourself parking in the driveway because it’s just easier to get in and out of your car.  You then spend a great deal of time searching for something that you know you stored in the garage, but can’t seem to find.  Sound familiar?

I also hear many of my peers tell stories of such networks also, complaining and making fun of the client.  In some cases, the neatness of the network’s physical components (or lack thereof) offends aesthetic sensibilities since many IT guys are borderline obsessive/compulsive when it comes to that.  I happen to agree with some of these since a neat network is easier to troubleshoot.  But not the point of losing sight of the big picture.

What causes this phenomenon?

Not a simple answer for that one.  One could blame the hardware and software manufacturers’ penchant for insisting that you upgrade your systems that you just installed 8 months ago to the latest version.

One could blame a “technology happy” IT Manager, who likes to play with the latest and greatest technologies, regardless of the lack of necessity for the business.  They just want it because it’s cool.

One could also blame the sales guy who comes calling, touting the plethora of benefits that come from buying a solution or technology from them.

But ultimately, the business owner must take responsibility and realize that purchasing the latest and greatest technology is not always the best for the business, no matter what the sales guy, IT guy or manufacturer says.

As a business owner, how do you mitigate against “Ad Hoc Networking”?

When trying to prevent “sprawl” and ensure that your business maximizes any investment in technology, it’s best to ensure that you’re as educated as possible.  If you’re not technical, then make sure you have a technical advisor that you trust along for the ride.

What will follow is a series of posts to help a business owner make better decisions when deciding to invest in IT.  Hopefully, this will help you be a better consumer for your business.

What really turns me off is the “Your product <insert product weakness here>, therefore, my product is better” arguments that you can readily see leading up to, during and after any big technology event (Synergy, VMworld, TechEd, etc.).  I’m a technologist.  Have been most of my career.  But do I try to shove my opinion about my products or services down your throat by flogging the other guy?  No.

That type of behavior is high school crap.  You don’t have anything good to say about yourself, so you say something bad about somebody else to make you appear superior.  Remember that?  Remember what a jackass you made of yourself by doing that?

I’ve listened to self-proclaimed technology evangelists do this time and time again.

All of that being said, I’ve been around long enough to know that a.) perception sometimes becomes reality; b.) that negative marketing campaigns can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line in terms of newly generated revenue and c.) that politicians deploy these very tactics to get people elected to public office, go to war, etc.

Now just because I know that’s the playing field, doesn’t mean I have to like it.  Or even tolerate it.  I believe in fair play.  I believe that if you have a good product, then it speaks for itself and doesn’t need you bashing the competition.  I believe that karma and kismet are powerful forces, what goes around, comes around and that you reap what you sow.

When I started contemplating the possibility of using a blog format to disseminate information, I almost used the term “Technology Evangelist”.  But I couldn’t, in good conscience, do so.  Evangelism has some very negative connotations, to me, with sometimes unpalatable religious overtones.  It implies narrowness of thought and an unwillingness to accept other viewpoints because they differ from your own.  “You’re going to hell because you don’t believe the way I do” kind of thing. (Growing up in the South, you hear that one a LOT)

Evangelism can mean a strong, fervent belief in some product, religion or company also.  But sometimes, the message gets lost in the delivery.  Not always, but sometimes.

For those of you out there who label yourself as such, give it some thought.  And if you still want to call yourself an evangelist of some kind, then more power to you.  But be mindful of the negative impact you could have on your message.  For those of you who are still functioning like you’re in high school…grow up.

And that’s the beauty of our society.  Just because I don’t like what your sellin’ doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to try and sell it.

Just a few things.

I have yet to take this particular format to expound on my views on various topics that interest me.  However, I do enjoy writing and I do enjoy technology, so why not?

While I’m a new blogger, I’m not new to IT and I’m certainly not new to expressing my opinions, both professionally and personally, on technology and such.  Ask any of my friends, colleagues and former students.  Hopefully, what I have to say will be of interest to you and perhaps even useful.

I’ve written several white papers, case studies, training manuals and such, so hopefully, my style will be somewhat readable and not ramble on (like I’m doing now), but if not, please feel free to comment, correct or otherwise “chime in”.

Profanity, blatant personal attacks and the like will NOT be tolerated.  While I will not be strict moderator and will publish honestly, I will not permit rude behavior.

So…

• Why virtualize?
• What good will cloud computing do for my business? (and, by the way, what is cloud computing?)
• Convergence of storage fabrics…really?
• Technology guidelines for business owners.

These are some of the topics I will address. I will also be sharing my past, current and future technical endeavors in the hopes that a problem I run into and resolve may help someone else.

In the meantime, expect more soon…

Welcome to Stacy’s Tech Blog!

More information is in the works, so stay tuned!