Network Support
There are two types of IT people: those who have devoted their lives to IT and are really, really good, and those who know just enough to be dangerous and made the mistake of letting someone know it.
The second category is the topic of this article. This person is usually an office manager or a legal assistant who inherited the position of in-house IT person by accident. Or, in a far-fetched, “we needed a great headline” scenario, it could be an alligator wrestler. 
(If you just want to know the solution and don’t want the supporting evidence, skip down to the section called “Plan for Your Computer Network“)
Sure, These People Could Provide Network Support
You’d like to enter telephone numbers as 10 digits in your spreadsheet, but have them show up as (561) 555-1212. Peggy in Accounting knows you can do that by setting your cell formatting to Special/Phone number. That saves you four keystrokes per entry and makes sure the data is all entered the same way.
You need to send out press releases to 300 addresses, but don’t want the recipients to see everyone it was sent to. You’ve already sent 40 individual emails when Joyce walks by and asks, “Why don’t you create a group list, then put the addresses in the Bcc: field? You can send all 300 (260 of them, now) at one time and the addresses will be hidden.”
Sam knows how to clear the jam in the laser printer.
Dave from AC knows just where to hit the vending machine to cause two bags of potato chips to fall. (Oops, wasn’t supposed to mention that.)
All of these folks have little snippets of knowledge that they’ve learned, either from trial and error, or from training.
Your business is at serious risk, though, if you count on Peggy, Sam, Joyce and Dave (especially Dave) to safeguard your data, make sure security patches are up to date and to seal off all the ways the bad guys can break into your network.
Encouraging your unofficial office gurus to help out with applications may be good for morale and helpful for productivity, but don’t assume that being able to make a spreadsheet look pretty qualifies someone to run the network on which your livelihood depends.
Companies who make the decision use an ‘Accidental’ IT person are being very short-sighted. They are trading lower, predictable operational expenses in the present for, what could be, extraordinarily staggering expenses in the future.
Perception is NOT Always Reality
Don’t get me wrong, the Accidental IT person may do a very good job of handling the little IT-related things that pop up each day.
Day-to-day Network Support
Doing those things is very important for your day-to-day business. I liken them to being able to jump-start your car when the battery is dead and filling up the water for the windshield washer, but never getting your oil changed nor checking the tread depth on your tires.
If you’ve appointed one or had one appoint himself, (and you know who you are), ask your Accidental IT person these questions, and see if you like the answers:
Q1: When was the last time you reviewed the event logs on the server to see if there is anything that needs to be proactively done?
a) I checked them today, and there was an Exchange eventlog 9688 error message. I’m going to up the limit and restart the Exchange datastore tonight so that we don’t hit the limit tomorrow and crash.
b) Where are the event logs?
c) The only time that I ever look at the event logs is when something has gone wrong and my friend’s, husband’s, nephew says to look in the system section.
Q2: Today, I read that tapes for tape backup drives should not be kept in use for longer than one year, because of data reliability issues. When was the last time that we replaced the tapes?
a) I’ve been using a pencil to spin the tape while holding a wet paper towel on the magnetic strip. My friend’s, husband’s, nephew told me you can get a couple more months out of them.
b) That’s right. I had a note on my monitor to order those. Yikes! That was January. I’ll order them today.
c) I replaced them last week with a few days to spare.
(answers are at the bottom)
A Plan for Your Computer Network
FIRST: Hire an IT services company that specializes in small business computer networks, and ask them to perform a network assessment for you. Have them provide you with an example of assessment report they’ve done for another company. If it’s detailed, has few grammatical errors and has logical explanations for each recommendation, hire them. Rates are generally somewhere between $600 for a 1/2 day and $1000 for a full day. Remember, you get what you pay for; you may want to pass on an offer to do it for free.
SECOND: Immediately, act on all items that are associated to data loss or security concerns. If the experience with the assessing firm felt good, have them perform the work. Otherwise, get three proposals and take care of these issues ASAP.
THIRD: Once you find a solid computer networking company, have them put you on a monthly maintenance plan (our industry calls these Managed Services). At the very least, look for a company that installs software on all of your network devices and monitors those systems 24×7. They will alert you if there is an event that needs action taken. Even if you aren’t a 24×7 shop, the ability to monitor 24×7 says something about the company’s ability to deliver.
Want to allow your Accidental IT person to get back to the job he/she was hired to do? Look for a company that has a fully-staffed help desk and a contract that offers unlimited remote support, in addition to the monitoring.
FOURTH: Pick up that assessment and read it. Really read it. Work with the above company to put together a long-term plan (that includes prioritization, budget and time frames) for handling all of the issues from your assessment. Remember, because of the unlimited remote service contract, it benefits both companies to remedy your problems, so ask them to cut you a break on the implementation services rate.
FIFTH: Enjoy a reliable network that causes you fewer headaches. You will sleep better knowing that maintaining your network went from unexpected, jaw-dropping expenses to budgeted and predictable expenses.
After all, a butcher can trim a brisket, but you don’t want him doing brain surgery on you. Both activities use the same basic tools, but there’s a big difference between the butcher’s and the brain surgeon’s knowledge and experience.
(By the way, the answers were 1A, 2C)
I’m cleaning out a backyard storage unit that has boxes and boxes of old books and magazines. A couple of boxes contain computer magazines that date back to just after the abacus was invented. (If anybody wants them, make me an offer.)
An April 1989 cover story said that a survey of 500 corporate chiefs (with 457 responses) showed that only 21.4 percent of them used a computer at home or at work.
A second story said that if you’re going to actually give your CEO a computer, you’d better keep it simple. (“Maybe he’ll need a mouse so he can look and leap rather than type and toil.”)
The last paragraph of the story directly addresses how companies come to rely on home-grown “experts” to manage their networks:
HAVE AN EXPERT ON-HAND
Lastly, build an affable relationship with a computer expert within the company who you can call upon as your computer guru (or human
panic button). For that matter, you might consider hiring an executive assistant who’s expert in these matters. Depend on this person to solve any problems you may encounter and to discuss things you’d like your computer to be able to do.
That might have worked fine in the days when “if” your CEO was going to use electronic mail, he should have at least a 2400 baud modem.
It doesn’t work today.