4 ms·

What I find interesting is that the “insane asylum” apparently knew that it was wrong. e.g. when asked why they need so much space on their laptops, they were

What I find interesting is that the “insane asylum” apparently knew that it was wrong. e.g. when asked why they need so much space on their laptops, they were evasive. To my mind this makes it much worse. Not only were they doing something dumb, but they knew it was dumb, and they hid it instead of fixing it. It certainly invites speculation about the company culture in the acquired business.

nikanj 7y ago
Based on my experience: IT was well aware it was insane. Alas, IT got absolutely no budget for fixing it from top brass, as kicking the can down the road always made more sense short-term
- Thorrez 7y ago
  IT of the insane company, or the acquiring company? Because the post says IT of the acquiring company didn't know until the problem blew up.
  - swarnie_ 7y ago
    DD failed to find it during the M&A, issue didn't become apparent until the purchased company lost multiple employees who kept the plates spinning. It's a failure all round but i would say acquiring companies IT team are least to blame here.
    - vezycash 7y ago
      From the article, it doesn't seem to be the fault of the IT guys. It's more like some rich guy who goes out buys a shiny used plane and hands over to the pilot to use.
    - mannykannot 7y ago
      According to OP, the plate-spinning employees were 'let go' at the time of the acquisition - presumably a decision by the acquiring company.
xauronx 7y ago
I worked for a small company right out of college and we had some monsters under the bed too. Unfortunately the manager would rather new code written than cleaning up technical debt or resolving risks. So I would have to double my estimates and use my “spare time” to try to work toward some level of sanity... but there were still plenty of things that I felt guilty about and would be evasive about if someone asked.
- mannykannot 7y ago
  It is better not to take ownership of someone else's bad decisions. At the very least, make sure that you do not become complicit in something unethical or illegal.
mannykannot 7y ago
It also certainly invites speculation about the due diligence of the acquiring company.

nikanj 7y ago

Based on my experience: IT was well aware it was insane. Alas, IT got absolutely no budget for fixing it from top brass, as kicking the can down the road always made more sense short-term

Thorrez 7y ago
IT of the insane company, or the acquiring company? Because the post says IT of the acquiring company didn't know until the problem blew up.
- swarnie_ 7y ago
  DD failed to find it during the M&A, issue didn't become apparent until the purchased company lost multiple employees who kept the plates spinning. It's a failure all round but i would say acquiring companies IT team are least to blame here.
  - vezycash 7y ago
    From the article, it doesn't seem to be the fault of the IT guys. It's more like some rich guy who goes out buys a shiny used plane and hands over to the pilot to use.
  - mannykannot 7y ago
    According to OP, the plate-spinning employees were 'let go' at the time of the acquisition - presumably a decision by the acquiring company.

xauronx 7y ago

I worked for a small company right out of college and we had some monsters under the bed too. Unfortunately the manager would rather new code written than cleaning up technical debt or resolving risks. So I would have to double my estimates and use my “spare time” to try to work toward some level of sanity... but there were still plenty of things that I felt guilty about and would be evasive about if someone asked.

mannykannot 7y ago
It is better not to take ownership of someone else's bad decisions. At the very least, make sure that you do not become complicit in something unethical or illegal.

mannykannot 7y ago

It also certainly invites speculation about the due diligence of the acquiring company.