Business Thoughts

[Chu Rey]

Please direct us to another posting board if this is an inappropriate
listing.
We're totally frustrated end users working with an international
retail company. We work in marketing, advertising.

We work in a very secure network with unbelievable constraints. To
protect the accounting department's databases we in the creative
section are unable to perform basic operations. Downloading software.
Adding the printers. Inserting usb devices. We are unable to start an
online retail business because of "security." We cannot take online
college courses. We are unable to explore opportunities using blogs.
We are prevented from checking out retail opportunities on MySpace,
and You Tube. We thought all these marketing business exploits would
be basic, normal internet activities. Just the usual day to day
operations in retail.

Here in this corporate office it's all convoluted passwords, secured
emails, and very limited internet site exploration. In the past month
the company was shut down twice because of hackers infiltrating the
business. Suspicious packets? Security specialist are paid to come in
and fix the compromised system. It's completely annoying. It's as
though the creative end is held hostage not from the outside hacking
violation but from the networking department.

A fellow worker thought why not just sign up for a Dsl service and run
a connection into our department. The cost for this would be around
$40.00 monthly. We have all those spare computers, monitors, hardward,
and so forth so the only cost to the company would be for a Dsl
connection.

We would be completely independent from the corporate network. No more
files sharing, print sharing, firewall security, changing passwords,
and so on. We would have two to four computers running on this
alternate connection. We would be able to do our work, unfettered,
without restraints.

We are so frustrated. One would have thought the network
administrators would have thought of this very simple arrangement. We
just want to get our job done. Create an online retail presence. Get
involved with the current technologies such as MySpace and YouTube.
Get savvy with integrated social networking. We need to think 'out of
the box' and somehow get out there into the internet ocean. This
marketing pond we are housed within is becoming very stagnant.

I would appreciate feedback on the plausibility of bringing in a line,
independent of the corporate network, so we can fully participate in
the internet retail experience.

 

[Chuck]

Please direct us to another posting board if this is an inappropriate
listing.
We're totally frustrated end users working with an international
retail company. We work in marketing, advertising.

We work in a very secure network with unbelievable constraints. To
protect the accounting department's databases we in the creative
section are unable to perform basic operations. Downloading software.
Adding the printers. Inserting usb devices. We are unable to start an
online retail business because of "security." We cannot take online
college courses. We are unable to explore opportunities using blogs.
We are prevented from checking out retail opportunities on MySpace,
and You Tube. We thought all these marketing business exploits would
be basic, normal internet activities. Just the usual day to day
operations in retail.

Here in this corporate office it's all convoluted passwords, secured
emails, and very limited internet site exploration. In the past month
the company was shut down twice because of hackers infiltrating the
business. Suspicious packets? Security specialist are paid to come in
and fix the compromised system. It's completely annoying. It's as
though the creative end is held hostage not from the outside hacking
violation but from the networking department.

A fellow worker thought why not just sign up for a Dsl service and run
a connection into our department. The cost for this would be around
$40.00 monthly. We have all those spare computers, monitors, hardward,
and so forth so the only cost to the company would be for a Dsl
connection.

We would be completely independent from the corporate network. No more
files sharing, print sharing, firewall security, changing passwords,
and so on. We would have two to four computers running on this
alternate connection. We would be able to do our work, unfettered,
without restraints.

We are so frustrated. One would have thought the network
administrators would have thought of this very simple arrangement. We
just want to get our job done. Create an online retail presence. Get
involved with the current technologies such as MySpace and YouTube.
Get savvy with integrated social networking. We need to think 'out of
the box' and somehow get out there into the internet ocean. This
marketing pond we are housed within is becoming very stagnant.

I would appreciate feedback on the plausibility of bringing in a line,
independent of the corporate network, so we can fully participate in
the internet retail experience.

Keep your resume up to date.

Every corporation that I've ever worked with has strict Corporate Security
Policies, and anybody bringing in their own Internet service would be fired on
the spot. Separate network or not.

Get caught, and you're out.

 

[Noozer]

Uhm... THEY are the folks who decide what your job is. They give you the
tools that THEY want you to use. Stop whining and just do the best you can
with what you've been given.

I'm sure that they'd change their tune if YOU came up with a Business Plan
explaining what changes could be made, and what improvements that they would
bring.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

I agree with Chuck - in my workplace, anyone who did what you propose would
be terminated on the spot. If you have issues or disagreements with your
management and/or network operations staff you need to work from within to
clear them up.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Guest]

Chuck:

I have a similar problem, 20 years ago, with a company, data secured on
Mainframes, very limited in utility, and data easily manipulated using PC's
at the time. Senior management resisted using PC's even though they were
common place elsewhere for several years.

So I took work home to do, retyped the data onto my PC, then generated
reports that everyone agreed was more useful compared to the mainfame data,
where the system guys said they "couldn't do this, couldn't do that".

Problem was I spent 15 hours, some weeks 20 hours, of my own time each week
doing it. After 3 months, the following situation developed:

- Managment says "can you do this and that report"??, mainframe guys make a
face, I said "no problem".
- Management says "when can you do it,"??, and the answer is "when I get
home toniite because I don't have a PC' at the office.
- Eventually convinced the department head to have me go home early, "how
about 2:00PM" so I can do even more company work on my PC.

On "month four", senior managment gave in. My boss laughed and said I made
them look ridiclulous since all of the important work is done at a
employees's basement PC, and they even have to let the guy go home early to
do it, and in their desire to safeguard security, someone had to duplicate
everything on his system at home.

Some years later, I headed my own department there as well as taking over IT.

My boss told me later that if wasn't for me spending all that time doing the
work on the PC at home, they figured I was serious, and show them the end
product, that they can't imagine, I would be just another "whiner" like all
the others they got rid off. The difference was I was willing to spend 15
hours of my own time at home for the first three months, instead of spending
3 months whining how ridiculous the place is. Senior managment finally came
to that conclusion themselves, i.e. how ridiculous they were.

Maybe you can do something along the same lines,. like, can we work from
home to do this and that, since we can't do it from the office.

 

[Michael W. Ryder]

Please direct us to another posting board if this is an inappropriate
listing.
We're totally frustrated end users working with an international
retail company. We work in marketing, advertising.

We work in a very secure network with unbelievable constraints. To
protect the accounting department's databases we in the creative
section are unable to perform basic operations. Downloading software.
Adding the printers. Inserting usb devices. We are unable to start an
online retail business because of "security." We cannot take online
college courses. We are unable to explore opportunities using blogs.
We are prevented from checking out retail opportunities on MySpace,
and You Tube. We thought all these marketing business exploits would
be basic, normal internet activities. Just the usual day to day
operations in retail.

Here in this corporate office it's all convoluted passwords, secured
emails, and very limited internet site exploration. In the past month
the company was shut down twice because of hackers infiltrating the
business. Suspicious packets? Security specialist are paid to come in
and fix the compromised system. It's completely annoying. It's as
though the creative end is held hostage not from the outside hacking
violation but from the networking department.

A fellow worker thought why not just sign up for a Dsl service and run
a connection into our department. The cost for this would be around
$40.00 monthly. We have all those spare computers, monitors, hardward,
and so forth so the only cost to the company would be for a Dsl
connection.

We would be completely independent from the corporate network. No more
files sharing, print sharing, firewall security, changing passwords,
and so on. We would have two to four computers running on this
alternate connection. We would be able to do our work, unfettered,
without restraints.

We are so frustrated. One would have thought the network
administrators would have thought of this very simple arrangement. We
just want to get our job done. Create an online retail presence. Get
involved with the current technologies such as MySpace and YouTube.
Get savvy with integrated social networking. We need to think 'out of
the box' and somehow get out there into the internet ocean. This
marketing pond we are housed within is becoming very stagnant.

I would appreciate feedback on the plausibility of bringing in a line,
independent of the corporate network, so we can fully participate in
the internet retail experience.

What kind of company are you working for and what kind of work do they
do? There are now so many federal laws concerning what is available to
whom and how it is secured that is a full-time job at some companies
just trying to comply with all the regulations. They may lock
everything down so tight just so that they can show that they were
trying to comply. If you place an "unsecured" connection in the office
all of their work will go out the door and your company could be in
trouble if it is audited. Even if none of the "secure" data was ever
near the "unsecured" network the fact would not stop the lawsuits and fines.