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Mon 28 Jun, 2004 02:45 pm
This question is geared to other IT Managers/IT Directors, etc. who manage a network for a company. What are your thoughts regarding users bringing in their personal equipment to connect to the company network such as printers? I am opposed to it and am trying to defend my position with my national IT Director. Below I have posted the points that I thought of to defend my position. Does anyone have any other ideas why personal equipment should not be allowed?
The problem comes into play:
-with a lot of personal equipment. At what point do you stop it? If a users wants to bring in a scanner (or anything else) how can we then say no because we have let other users bring in other things.
-when trying to decipher between a user's personal equipment and company equipment during inventories, etc. If an associate were ever to tag a user's personal equipment with an asset tag during an inventory blitz and a year or so later we try to figure out who really owns it then it can become a problem.
-monitoring that cartridges aren't ordered through the company because some are sure to try.
-with the pc permissions on the new computers. If we allow personal equipment we will have to alter their permissions for local printers to be installed (at least temporarily). If we allow users to bring in their own equipment we will be forced to support it in that regard.
-by having to keep records of what devices we shouldn't support for certain users because currently some users have company local printers. We'd have to distinguish the company owned ones for support.
-because it seems like it would make us less efficient. Especially when we're supporting other regions. How will someone in Arizona know that a particular user's equipment in our office is personal and shouldn't be supported?
-when the user is trying to install something on his own messes up a necessary company application or hardware that we now have to fix...urgently because he can no longer do his job.
gpf, FYI, this is NOT a IT manager/director question. It's a ethical question first, and a company policy question second. Having worked in management during most of my career, I understand management issues.
Aside from the issues you have noted, you really have to ask, "Why are they hooking up personal equipment?" For work or personal activity? IT is a support function - if users have to bring in personal equipment to perform work functions, there's a problem. If they bring it in for personal stuff, that's a company issue that goes beyond IT and would need to be addressed.
How about handling it with a request form for employees to fill out if they want/need to bring in personal equipment? That way there would be a record to help with inventory issues.
Our company hasemployees bringing in personal equipment, mainly because we are expanding too fast and not aquiring equipment fast enough.
We in the IT department prefer that it were not so.
It's a no-brainer not to allow personal equipment on the network.
But whoever said corporate policy was dictated predominantly by brains.
I'd say straight across the board, NO.
If the company is not supplying all of the necessary equipment for an employee to do their job, then they should get it in gear and do so.
If an employee gripes that he he has to walk to far to the communal printer or scanner or fax or whatever, then so be it.
I'm a tough manager and IMO, the only reason personal equipment is probably brought into a workplace is for personal reasons. Personal business should be done from home or a home office, not a business office.
Lady J, Nothing in business is black and white, and I'm not so sure that your blanket restriction is a good one. I would need to hear both sides of the argument before making any decision.
I use my thumbdrive and external USB and pocketpc all the time with IT mgt ok.
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