First Thoughts on Standardizing on Mobility

My organization is opening a new branch office with two people. It's a small endeavor in a donated space. I'm building the computers now in the New York office to ship over while I come up with a smartphone/PDA solution for the director. For now the land line phone and internet will be shared with the donor organization until we move, so a dedicated phone number for our organization will take the form of a mobile device. Plus, the need for the director to be on the go means email needs to be readily available. Multiple problems arise out of my requirement for streamlined efficiency.

I feel now is the time for me to standardize on a smartphone/PDA solution. Since I prefer central management as much as possible, I don't want to purchase cellphones that require a desktop client. We already have such setups in the New York office for both Blackberry and Treo. Both work fine but I don't see this as a solution when dealing with remote site users. Since we have Exchange 2003, we have ActiveSync. Using a Windows Mobile device, like a Treo 700w, email and contacts can readily flow to the device. With no desktop client to install, there would be less hassles when something does go wrong with the workstation or PDA. A Blackberry server option winds up being an additional expense that, while far more useful for centrally managing mobile devices, is difficult to justify when we already own something that satisfies the general requirement. Still, Blackberry is not out of the equation yet.

There is a problem on the network side. Because it is easy, I was intending these users to be set up on POP3, which means while I can set up their Outlook to leave the mail on the server for a duration of time thereby syncing with the handheld device, their contacts will forever be on their desktop. Alternatively a VPN for Exchange would create constant synchronization and give me a chance to use ActiveSync. Currently a VPN is what we use for two west coast users, though the rest use POP3. VPN is currently handled between server and desktop instead of between firewalls. I fear over time this setup could eat up bandwidth and resources. I might not want to think that long-term though, since a growing organization is a changing one, and just setup a protocol that really works through the immediate future.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

I wish you all a great Thanksgiving weekend - even to those not in the United States. I'll write more next week. Have things to say about grant applications processes and mobilized workers. Enjoy the weekend!

Meanderings

At the crack of 8:15-ish I am out the door and on the subway. I change trains instinctively while reading a paper and ignoring the many thousands of my fellow New Yorkers I pass daily. I manage to get to the office usually unscathed by 9. Downtown is always a mess but mornings are worse for pedestrians as everyone is meandering the maze of security zones, barricades, police road blocks, construction, and grabs of eminent domain - not to mention the groups of talkers, smokers, hockers, and loiterers. Especially mobbed is the area around the Stock Exchange (pic) and Federal Hall (site) where George (the good one) presided.

In the midst of this mess is my non-profit. Not nearly as bustling or exciting but just as cramped as any rush hour subway car (pic). There is a "beautiful" view of the building across the street. The datacenter that looks back sports a wall of blinking lights. Yeah, so what? We may only have five servers and no air conditioner but we help people every day!

The thought doesn't really alleviate the blinking-light envy (pic) I feel in my gut.

No, load balancing will never be an issue at my little non-profit, but it is amazing what so few people with nearly adequate tools can do for the betterment of the world. It's rewarding working as a non-profit technologist, despite the politics and difficult budgets. Small improvements in technology and an understanding of staff needs can make a big difference in output. Personally, it's great ROI to be there for those that are there for others.

My day usually ends 15 minutes too late and then I'm off to class. The streets aren't nearly as bad as in the morning but the trains run like broken escalators. I gripe about my day-to-day happenings, yet in the end I can't imagine being happy anywhere but at a non-profit. Hopefully that continues.

Revisiting Computer Equipment Rentals

In a previous post I spoke naively about computer equipment rental (post) for events held offsite, often in hotels. It's a great idea to look for the bargain, but after speaking today with the event planners I realized that the roadblocks set up by money hungry hotels actually makes it more cost effective to rent directly from them. Hmm, convenient, ey?

Things I didn't understand included the fact that many venues charge a fee for bringing outside equipment. According to my event planners it seems that one can get away with bringing in one's own laptops but other equipment, especially projectors, is best rented from the hotel. Michael Stein pointed out that support is a lot quicker to obtain if you're working with the hotel's equipment (post).

Still, there are some ways save a few bucks but it all depends on the frequency and needs of your events. My company is probably going to buy a half dozen laptops and a shipping case. We're estimating a savings of several thousand over the life of the laptops, which I estimate to be 3 years (usually the life of the warranty). Additional presentation remotes and lavalieres will also be purchased for a little more savings. I figure the presentation remotes and lavalieres will pay for themselves within a handful of events and the we'll keep a spare laptop on hand if any one breaks. These items should require minimal onsite support and some venues are willing to look at your machine to figure out why your equipment won't function with theirs.

Computer equipment rentals is certainly not as clear-cut as I had initially thought. There is some merit to renting directly from the venues, even if it is by their own design. But I still wouldn't buy a bag of peanuts from a hotel!

Documentation Matters

IT management requires one laborious task at its heart for the sake of organization and consistency: documentation. Creating documentation is tedious but not altogether horrible. It is the maintenance of those documents to reflect current conditions that requires monk-like discipline. Too often, once the document is drafted it lies buried on a server, growing outdated month after month until it is useless and only the template is worthy of salvage. Then the "next guy" has to start from scratch.

The dereliction of this duty comes easier the fewer people there are in a department. One-person IT department personnel are notorious for keeping everything in their head. When sharing isn't a requirement, the importance of documentation falls to the side. For non-profits with small IT departments, this appears to be a routine problem. For those dependent on consultants, often non-technical administrators don't request documents, or if they do, the material isn't stored well enough for future reference. Often I have asked for a specific piece of historical information and been handed an unwieldy folder with "everything about the network."

Document every month like it is your last month at the job. This is especially so for inventory and "Network Binders." Documentation should be limited to as few pieces of material as possible. The tome that is my Network Binder is really an anthology, but it is physically one document and digitally one folder on the server. When edits are made, diligently swap out the loose-leaf pages of the physical volume with the updated ones. And do keep as few copies of the physical and digital versions as possible - for consistency and security.

Non-technical administrators should always ask for documentation after any major work or regular maintenance has been conducted. Material on work performed should be kept separate from invoices and manuals. Additionally, keep the work documentation in chronological order. Being able to quickly review the work history of a network will reduce the learning curve for any future network admin.

Managing such a disciplined approached to documentation isn't easy, especially if you're a one-person operation. Certainly I'm guilty of ignoring my own guidelines. I consider this an ideal to strive for until reality interferes. Everyone needs dreams.

What To Do? Where To Go?

A week in Montreal helped clear the mind of its webs. Sometimes a break from all levels of routine is very much needed. The trip allowed me to evaluate my situation and goals from a less stress-reactive position.

Firstly, the job needs to go. Despite having made the decision out of shear frustration, it is the right choice. I just wish I could quit now and take a month off. The wife won't allow it at a time like this. Understandable.

Second, I've turned this site into something too personal. I wanted to keep the blog very much about the technology and managerial trends exemplified by work experiences. I wanted to document what I learned and how I went about performing my job. Along the way I could reevaluate what I said, learn from criticism and others experiences, and grow. For this to happen I would have liked to work on project after project. Unfortunately the work environment has left me lacking in this regard, and therefore I feel the blog has not lived up to what I had hoped it would be.

So where do I go from here? I'm not sure. I don't know where I was going with this post. I had hoped I'd find some resolution, some direction, by the end of this paragraph.

Nope. Nothing.