a geek in industry or “how to survive in a corporate it shop”

A geek in industryA geek in industry

or

“how to survive in a corporate IT shop”

copyright © InformationSpan 2008 2

DefinitionsDefinitions

Enterprise - more than 5000 employees

International - active in more than 3 countries

Global - active in 3 or more world regions• and at least 3 countries in each


IssuesIssues

Time zones Languages Cultures

Tax Regulations

“one size does[n’t] fit all”

… and opportunities


1 - You don’t know everybody1 - You don’t know everybody

and they probably work on the other side of the world and they probably don’t think like you do and they may be divided by a common language

• do you know what “quite” means in American?

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.


2 - You have a locked down PC2 - You have a locked down PC

and it will be a PC and it will (as of now) be on XP and someone else will make most of the choices they will put lots of effort into making sure it all works together but it won’t accommodate other bits!

if this scares you ... use the web, but mind the company’s information

• it doesn’t help anyone if you compromise your employer!

companies are learning to trust their users• education in the things that home IT doesn’t teach• personal budget and self provisioning• so long as you can collaborate!

QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.


3 - You don’t get to travel3 - You don’t get to travel

since “9/11” since cost became an issue

Technology has improved• massive internal use of collaboration• look at HP/Cisco reality videoconferencing!

But you still won’t get to use• Skype (there are real security issues)• Internet IM (but internal services are reaching out)• desktop video (bandwidth …)• SecondLife (all the above!)


4 - Global regulatory and compliance4 - Global regulatory and compliance

The big stick• and truly the regulatory burden is awesome!

This one you really do have to take notice of• people can go to jail if you don’t

It’s not the same as “security” do you know about SOX do you know about Basel II do you know about the DPA? ... and so on Note: your email and chat gets archived - and can be

“discovered”


5 - Information risk5 - Information risk

We always used to say that email is a postcard, not a letter

So are blogs, wiki postings, and so on Many enterprises want to “avoid” risk

• but you can’t do business without it - business is risk

A good enterprise will understand it’s a balance There will be a policy

• anti sharing: information may get compromised• pro sharing: often a great way to build your stakeholder community

and share information quickly. Streamlines business.

Now the good stuffNow the good stuff

apart from pay


1 - there are sources you don’t get elsewhere1 - there are sources you don’t get elsewhere

Enterprise IT people get attention• with vendors particularly!• great sources of geek knowledge

Industry analysts (big and small)• they watch the world for you• think “insight services” to support and inform decisions• find your company’s subscriptions and use them!

ask interesting questions …and do good stuff with the answers


2 - beat everyone in breadth of knowledge2 - beat everyone in breadth of knowledge

you know lots of stuff that most IT people don’t• a little about a lot, and a lot about a little!

and lots of people• let your academic contacts work alongside new commercial ones

remember the “knowledge I know where to find”

Some key examples: distributed systems; social computing

make your knowledge and contacts work for you


3 - lots of new stuff to learn3 - lots of new stuff to learn

ERP, MRP

SAPB I

Data centerSix Sigmaespecially if you knowa bit of stats!

projectmanagement

businessrequirements

Metricscan be very creativemeasure what’s valuablenot the other way round!

CRM

find the stuff that works for you, and focus!


4 - find the right way to be a tech advocate4 - find the right way to be a tech advocate

friends in upstream (R&D) business leaders with unsolved problems

• or frustrations• particularly direct consumer-facing teams

architecture and tech strategy• who’s doing the tech roadmap?• how far out do they look?

find the can opener

Enterprise IT has a lot going for itEnterprise IT has a lot going for it

find your feet - and enjoy!

a geek in industry or “how to survive in a corporate it shop”

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