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Politics and I.T. Do Not Mix
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: Tecil
As some of you know, I am a system support admin for my local sheriff's office. The last few months have been nothing but short of hell at work. We scrapped our old 911 disptach software because it was out dated and the company would not support anything higher than NT4 SP3. We put out an RFP for a new vendor and the decision was made.
Basically the last 2 weeks have just plain sucked. Here's a little news article to sum up what has happened.
Let me just tell you, I am in no way happy about this situation. I replaced out all of their computer with brand spanking new P4 dells with Quad flat screen monitor setups on Win2k and now they want to revert back to the old Compaq PIIs running NT4.
I could go on for a bit, but I'd probably break into the confidential side of things. So thats my rant. I'm going to go beat my head on something for a while.
Posted by: redwench
tecil, you need to be registered to view that. could you copy it here, or put it on another site?
Posted by: Tecil
Sorry about that.
I found a story in our local paper that has a little more info.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/News/story.asp?ID=23331
Posted by: redwench
well, id guess the old system is so outdated that it will be useless very shortly. you may have to convince them to look for a third vendor if the current one cant fix the bugs.
Posted by: Tecil
Thats the bad thing. They seem to forget that the old system was just as crappy. That and we sued them to get some of our money back because they failed to deliever what they promised.
If we do do another RFP it would take at least 2 years to get it all worked out. Its all a big mess, and I'm one of the ones stuck with supporting whatever happens, but have no say in any of the decisions.
Oh yeah that article didn't mention the fact that the Commisioners said they would not be granting any money for any use, so either way they are going to have to find the money somewhere.
Posted by: redwench
well, if you reside in the county, you do have a say. you are a citizen of voting age, are you not?
Posted by: Kdr Kane
Politics and I.T. will always be intertwined from now on. The days of shooting from the hip and getting money for every imagined and technological fancy are gone.
It's easy to look back and see how you should approach this. Many IT departments took advantage of the Y2K frenzy to get updated equipment and software. You should determine what will hit the hot buttons of the decision makers.
Now, I doubt that you are personally responsible for the RFP's and reports that are presented by management. So, there's not a lot you can do until you get into such a position. But, you may have been asked for input. Unfortunately, that may have required you to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing such documentation when you wouldn't have gotten any credit for compiling.
It's a failing on your management's part. So, make sure you see clearly where the trouble lies. The politicians are only going on the information presented. Your management may not have presented the issues correctly because they may have been the people recommending the first system years ago. They don't want to answer the question "If there are problems with this system, what are you doing to remedy it?" or "Why did you recommend this system in the first place and why should we listen to you now?". And, obviously they are not presenting a suitable alternative now.
Don't shoot yourself by complaining too loudly. Your own supervisors may say one thing to you and something else to others.
This is the way it is all over. Corporate and government. Learn from the mistakes of others. Don't disallow the possibility of taking your services elsewhere if the opportunity presents itself. Do it better when you become the decision maker. You can't get there if you start ticking them all off.
Remember - Presentation is Everything!
Posted by: Chako
Yes.
I have no respect for the school board IT department. I fear I know more about the equipment and how to configure them, then they do..and that is saying much!
They won't allow me access to the systems so that I can fix them when they crash...yes..they lock everyone out except them. Furthermore, when you call, you only get their answering machine. They are notoriously slow to do anything, and they seem to screw up when they do eventually come...meanwhile, you have a class to teach and no computers to teach them on.
Furthermore, they won't allow the graphic arts department a CDROM burner to help with the year book production for some unknown reason. Likewise, the networks are running so freaking slow that it is practically useless this year to get the class to do net work. It is so bad that I won't even work on them if I have to. It is a big waste of time waiting for the machine to boot into windows, let alone going into a wordprocessor or the net. Add to this, their red tap and barriers to my installing darkroom photography software on one computer (no violations of the EULA on top of that!) because they haven't tested it yet...bha!
They are ticking me off so much, that I will probably supply my classroom with one of my computers with a burner and software that I own so that my class can get some panoramic experience, etc... that will have large stickers that say "IT Dept..you touch..you die" emblazoned all over it. Because they won't be able to touch it, I should have the fastest system in the school board! I won't be able to hook it up to the network..because this would allow the IT dept to cry foul, and possibly cause me larger headaches.
Now, I wonder where the politics fit into this dreadful scenario?
Oh by the way Tecil, I feel your pain.
Posted by: Tecil
The really crappy thing is that the systems are not picked by the I.T department. It was picked by the Public Safety board, and no I.T. people sit on that board, its only made up of county officials.
If I had any say in things I would have gone with Motrola. Most metro cities use Motrola systems and they basically come in and set it all up and then send us to training on how to maintain and repair. Much more cost effective, but the cost is the main issue. We pressed for this in the first place, but the only thing that sounds good to them is what they can say to the tax payer when election time comes around.
The good thing is two of the Commisioners are out in a month so hopefully whoever replaces them will be more negotiable.
Posted by: Erekose
a big rock, a shovel, a bag of quick-lime and a bottle of febreeze...
Posted by: redwench
nah, febreeze isnt up to the task. pine sol works much better.
Posted by: Kdr Kane
There you go, Chako.
You're at the other end of the spectrum. 
Even when we get to somewhere in the middle, not everybody is going to be happy.
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