3 ms·

The problem is that IT departments are really good at coming up with excuses why they need to lock everything down (eg. because of GDPR compliance), so the usua

by yarcob 6y ago

The problem is that IT departments are really good at coming up with excuses why they need to lock everything down (eg. because of GDPR compliance), so the usual result is that employees just use web apps instead of more secure local apps that they can't install, or just use their personal devices instead.

toyg 6y ago
> employees just use web apps It’s all fun and games until IT ticks the “filesharing sites” option in their censorware proxy config, and poof, no Dropbox, no Drive, no Gmail...
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
I'm convinced that a substantial part of the popularity of SaaS is because people can bypass IT and its sehnanigns.
- foepys 6y ago
  And now enterprise permission features like ACLs creep into web apps because companies think web apps are popular for other reasons and we start the whole thing all over again.
gorgoiler 6y ago
You’ve perfectly captured the nature of this problem. Thank you, I really appreciate your comment. A powerful and dysfunctional IT department is indeed a horrible business practice. The transactions between IT and staff are glibly treated as some sort of internal vendor/client relationship. But the vendor (IT) isn’t responsible to the client (me.) The vendor’s performance is reviewed by their management, and their management’s management. At some point up the tree the reporting structures do converge, but that nexus is sufficiently distant that any technical feedback is weeks old and diluted. Luckily, the battle with IT is such a tiny part of my job that I’ve decided to just check out completely. For part of my work I provide my own devices, network, and software and I’m quite open (constructively, with my manager) about the fact that I do so, and why. I’m stoic about how the org chooses to interpret me voting with my feet like this. Meanwhile I can focus on doing work, which is mostly what I care about. Sometimes though, the idea of working at such a dysfunctional org makes me feel a deep unease. My employer might also feel unease. We may choose, unilaterally or bilaterally, to terminate our relationship and find partners that are a better fit. Life’s too short to fight all the time.

by yarcob 6y ago

toyg 6y ago

> employees just use web apps It’s all fun and games until IT ticks the “filesharing sites” option in their censorware proxy config, and poof, no Dropbox, no Drive, no Gmail...

tonyedgecombe 6y ago

I'm convinced that a substantial part of the popularity of SaaS is because people can bypass IT and its sehnanigns.

foepys 6y ago
And now enterprise permission features like ACLs creep into web apps because companies think web apps are popular for other reasons and we start the whole thing all over again.

gorgoiler 6y ago

You’ve perfectly captured the nature of this problem. Thank you, I really appreciate your comment. A powerful and dysfunctional IT department is indeed a horrible business practice. The transactions between IT and staff are glibly treated as some sort of internal vendor/client relationship. But the vendor (IT) isn’t responsible to the client (me.) The vendor’s performance is reviewed by their management, and their management’s management. At some point up the tree the reporting structures do converge, but that nexus is sufficiently distant that any technical feedback is weeks old and diluted. Luckily, the battle with IT is such a tiny part of my job that I’ve decided to just check out completely. For part of my work I provide my own devices, network, and software and I’m quite open (constructively, with my manager) about the fact that I do so, and why. I’m stoic about how the org chooses to interpret me voting with my feet like this. Meanwhile I can focus on doing work, which is mostly what I care about. Sometimes though, the idea of working at such a dysfunctional org makes me feel a deep unease. My employer might also feel unease. We may choose, unilaterally or bilaterally, to terminate our relationship and find partners that are a better fit. Life’s too short to fight all the time.