Should I allow user to install their own software on office's comp

[Eric]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer for their
daily activities, should computer department allow them to do it? Even
through their softwares have a licence, do you agree to collect user's
licence during the period for using this software within office? and users
can take this licence back, after they uninstall their personal software,
then it will be sure that all softwares have licence, which is managed by
computer department.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Eric

 

[Malke]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer for
their daily activities, should computer department allow them to do it?
Even through their softwares have a licence, do you agree to collect
user's licence during the period for using this software within office?
and users can take this licence back, after they uninstall their personal
software, then it will be sure that all softwares have licence, which is
managed by computer department.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions

The answer to the first question you asked is "no" so the rest of it doesn't
matter.

Users should not be administrators. Users should not be allowed to install
anything on their computers. Only the IT people should do this and they
will keep track of all licenses, updates, etc.

Malke

 

[Shenan Stanley]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer
for their daily activities, should computer department allow them
to do it? Even through their softwares have a licence, do you agree
to collect user's licence during the period for using this software
within office? and users can take this licence back, after they
uninstall their personal software, then it will be sure that all
softwares have licence, which is managed by computer department.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Does it have anything to do with their job functions and if so - why is the
business not purchasing said software for them?

(It's not their computer hardware and they are not maintaining it
otherwise - why should they get to use it like it was their equipment and
they were maintaining it?)

 

[Don Phillipson]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer for their
daily activities, should computer department allow them to do it?

The subject-line suggests Eric writes as an IT administrator.
So the first answer is that he should ask his employer. If he
is told to use his own discretion, the questions become:
1. Cost to the IT department of the extra work to install
and monitor: is this expense justified?
2. Whether user-private software would increase the office's
productivity or reduce it?

 

[Leythos]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer for their
daily activities, should computer department allow them to do it? Even
through their softwares have a licence, do you agree to collect user's
licence during the period for using this software within office? and users
can take this licence back, after they uninstall their personal software,
then it will be sure that all softwares have licence, which is managed by
computer department.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Eric

If the business does not provide it for business reasons then you should
not install it - anytime you allow users to install what they want you
risk screwing your company because of license violations and many other
threats to company/network/data.

If the company doesn't provide it, then the company doesn't need the
users to have it.

 

[Roy]

The subject-line suggests Eric writes as an IT administrator.
So the first answer is that he should ask his employer.  If he
is told to use his own discretion, the questions become:
1.  Cost to the IT department of the extra work to install
and monitor:  is this expense justified?
2.  Whether user-private software would increase the office's
productivity or reduce it?

Hmm this is an interesting thread....but supposing only one department
have a need for a particular software say for experimental design /
statistical analysis, HACCP tools for R&D and Quality Control then
why should the management not permit it if that software is essential
to the department or to that particular team or worker's job and
supposing the firm have that tool in their software inventory.?
It can save the company a couple thousands of bucks( if thats the
cost of buying that software?)
I presume the IT department just want to exercise their clout
monopoly on the company's computers?
How would such niche software had an impact on other users of the
company if its useless to them, and why would it complicate matters?

 

[Roy]

Hmm this is an interesting thread....but supposing only one department
have a need for  a particular software say for experimental design /
statistical analysis, HACCP tools  for R&D and Quality Control then
why should the management not permit it if that software is essential
to the department  or to that  particular team or  worker's job and
supposing  the firm  have that tool in their software inventory.?
It can save the company a  couple  thousands of bucks( if thats the
cost of buying that software?) text -

- Show quoted text -

Uh,,.uh...
What I mean here is supposing the firm does not have the particular
software in their inventory and if it can be installed on the users pc
why the fuss of tangling with the snooty IT department if does not
concern them at all?
I have this experience in previous employers where the Itech
department is so arrogant as if they are running the company and have
the final say what you put on ones work computer.
As long as the sofware is productive to the work then why not?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

If user requests to install their own software on office's computer
for their daily activities, should computer department allow them
to do it? Even through their softwares have a licence, do you agree
to collect user's licence during the period for using this software
within office? and users can take this licence back, after they
uninstall their personal software, then it will be sure that all
softwares have licence, which is managed by computer department.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

The subject-line suggests Eric writes as an IT administrator.
So the first answer is that he should ask his employer. If he
is told to use his own discretion, the questions become:
1. Cost to the IT department of the extra work to install
and monitor: is this expense justified?
2. Whether user-private software would increase the office's
productivity or reduce it?

Hmm this is an interesting thread....but supposing only one
department have a need for a particular software say for
experimental design / statistical analysis, HACCP tools for R&D
and Quality Control then why should the management not permit it if
that software is essential to the department or to that
particular team or worker's job and supposing the firm have that
tool in their software inventory.?
It can save the company a couple thousands of bucks( if thats the
cost of buying that software?)
I presume the IT department just want to exercise their clout
monopoly on the company's computers?
How would such niche software had an impact on other users of the
company if its useless to them, and why would it complicate matters?

Uh,,.uh...
What I mean here is supposing the firm does not have the particular
software in their inventory and if it can be installed on the users
pc why the fuss of tangling with the snooty IT department if does
not concern them at all?
I have this experience in previous employers where the Itech
department is so arrogant as if they are running the company and
have the final say what you put on ones work computer.
As long as the sofware is productive to the work then why not?

If the software is productive for the company, then the company would
benefit from purchasing it and having it installed on the computers.

The very fact that the users (not the company) bring in the software to be
installed should comment on how useful the software is *to the company*.
Now - if the software *is* useful (or would be) - then the users should have
the gumption present this to the company officials to get it approved by
showing its benefits and then get it purchased by the company for *official*
use.

In other words - prove its usefulness to the company and don't waste your
money and the companies time and money on anything you would not present to
be approved for use within the company officially. If you won't stand up
for the usefulness of said product beyond complaining to the IT department
who locked down your machines for security and stability reasons (won't
present it to the bosses for approval), then it cannot be all that useful
for the company.

 

[Guest]

Eric,

Do not allow them to install software because I have expeienced many who
allowed this & they installed Spyware etc from Screensavers.com, rogue
antispyware apps etc. You are just opening yourself up to viruses, network
infections, corrupt machines...

 

[Roy]

If the software is productive for the company, then the company would
benefit from purchasing it and having it installed on the computers.

The very fact that the users (not the company) bring in the software to be
installed should comment on how useful the software is *to the company*.
Now - if the software *is* useful (or would be) - then the users should have
the gumption present this to the company officials to get it approved by
showing its benefits and then get it purchased by the company for *official*
use.

In other words - prove its usefulness to the company and don't waste your
money and the companies time and money on anything you would not present to
be approved for use within the company officially.  If you won't stand up
for the usefulness of said product beyond complaining to the IT department
who locked down your machines for security and stability reasons (won't
present it to the bosses for approval), then it cannot be all that useful
for the company.

Well in in that particular case it was already proven after a month
of use but they are still reluctant to get it from a software
retailer and after the guy left that company he ;generously 'left
the software behind also, ....well maybe he was handsomely paid for
his services ? ...<Grin>...

 

[Anthony Buckland]

...
Uh,,.uh...
What I mean here is supposing the firm does not have the particular
software in their inventory and if it can be installed on the users pc
why the fuss of tangling with the snooty IT department if does not
concern them at all?
I have this experience in previous employers where the Itech
department is so arrogant as if they are running the company and have
the final say what you put on ones work computer.
As long as the sofware is productive to the work then why not?

Whether IT is arrogant is an issue possibly worth taking up with
management. However, they _are_ in charge of, and responsible
for, the software environment for the company, and anything to do
with the company's computers and what is on them is theirs and
theirs alone (under management direction) to control and make
decisions about. One possible way around the issue for the
individual employee is for them to bring their own laptop to work,
with their favorite program on it, _provided_ that it is guaranteed
that their machine will have no interaction of any kind with the
company's machines other than in sending email as though it
were at the employee's home (i.e., no networking or access to
the company's local wireless capabilities). There will still
remain, of course, the issue of whether what the employee is
doing on their laptop is a permitted activity during working hours.
And the employee will be responsible for not exposing any
company data they're allowed to download (by means other
than networking) on to their laptop to the outside world.

There will always be arrogant, snooty, and otherwise
personality-challenged people in sufficiently large organizations.
Basically, the ways of dealing with that amount to: put up
with it; complain up the chain of authority about it; leave
(not the best time in the world for that one ).

 

[Roy]

Whether IT is arrogant is an issue possibly worth taking up with
management.  However, they _are_ in charge of, and responsible
for, the software environment for the company, and anything to do
with the company's computers and what is on them is theirs and
theirs alone (under management direction) to control and make
decisions about.  One possible way around the issue for the
individual employee is for them to bring their own laptop to work,
with their favorite program on it, _provided_ that it is guaranteed
that their machine will have no interaction of any kind with the
company's machines other than in sending email as though it
were at the employee's home (i.e., no networking or access to
the company's local wireless capabilities).  There will still
remain, of course, the issue of whether what the employee is
doing on their laptop is a permitted activity during working hours.
And the employee will be responsible for not exposing any
company data they're allowed to download (by means other
than networking) on to their laptop to the outside world.

There will always be arrogant, snooty, and otherwise
personality-challenged people in sufficiently large organizations.
Basically, the ways of dealing with that amount to:  put up
with it;  complain up the chain of authority about it;  leave
(not the best time in the world for that one   ).

Well that PC is networked only to use the shared printer and
scanner for that department, BTW it has sensitive data regarding R&D
technical works etc....
So presumably it will not affect the other networked PCs.....