I got my start owning two computer stores in Seattle back in the early 1980's back when the first IBM clones started coming out. Since, I had worked for a couple companies including MSFT doing hardware and network security. One of my daily reads is a website called Slashdot. Today, reader timothy posted a question about being a recent hire at a business in the UK. From timothy:
I've recently started a job at a medium-sized enterprise in the UK. They claimed to be an advocate of open-source. The job was advertised as a Linux sys-admin. I've been in the role a short while and the systems right across the business are end-of-life: lots of XP and 2003 servers, a handful of LAMP web servers, and a large IT department with almost no skills in the technologies on site. Most boxes have the default password still. As a senior techie, I've been tasked with helping bring the skillset of the rest of the staff up. Where would you start, given that most of the kit is EoL?
Reader A. M. offers the following advice:
Before you bring in supported systems, you have to have a budget. Without a budget delineated, the rest of the decision making process is pure insanity.
My first response is, estimate what the "golden" cost will be, and quadruple it. They will cut it in half, and it will cost you twice what you think it will, and you'll end up with an excellent system that is designed well and built right.
If you need "enterprise" grade systems, make sure that you are identifying the vendors in the space and calculate budget accordingly. And remember, vendors lie.
Truer words were never spoken - A. M. has fought in the trenches and knows what they are talking about...
The following was also mentioned:
Good IT is expensive. Bad IT is costly
Words to live by...
