Tip 9 in the continuing saga of Tips to providing Technical Support
Kevin Wood
Experienced leader with experience in implementing technology to achieve organizational goals and overcome challenges
I have been a bit remiss in posting my next tip.
Your patience is commendable. Today's tip is:
TANSTAAFL
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.?
We hear promises from vendors about how their product will 'transform' our lives or business processes, etc. There is always a hidden catch. Hopefully, some skepticism on your part will protect you from those hidden catches.
领英推荐
Does anyone remember how by now we were supposed to be a paperless society? Your utilities ask you to enroll in paperless billing. (To borrow from a series I watch - "Sounds great, with the best of intentions, what could possibly go wrong?") Except when you go to get a drivers license, renew your passport and they ask for proof of residence like a paper bill (that you do not get because you went paperless).
In the IT field, vendors tell you "Move all your infrastructure to the cloud. You won't need your own IT staff." Sounds Great. . . (you know the rest). Except, not only do you STILL need the staff to create the Virtual networks, handle access and rights, architect infrastructure, NOW add in the skills to work in the cloud. . . As for costing less, while the infrastructure 'might' cost less, besides the skill you need in your organization, you are paying the provider for THEIR people and skills.
Not a problem because obviously, the vendor is hiring the best in their field to support YOUR cloud infrastructure. . . right? Did YOU get to interview their people? Do you even know who they are? If there is a problem with a mailbox. all of your employees can call the provider for support, right? (No. so you need a layer of initial support to screen and filter the requests to the provider. Not only have you added time to the support process, you also need someone on-prem to handle the calls.
Not seeming as simple as advertised anymore. TANSTAAFL.
Are there benefits to the cloud? Sure. But ensure YOU do a proper cost-benefit analysis. As commercials advise "Your milage may vary". My advice - "You milage WILL vary. Costs in the mirror are higher than they appear."