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Hey guys, been browsing the forums for a while now but this is my first time posting. Everyone here always seems helpful here so hopefully you all can provide me with some advice.

To give some background:

I started working as I.T. Manager at a medium sized construction company a bit over three years ago as a one man show running the IT department. When I started here the place was a mess, ancient desktops running XP, different software for every user, everything at or past EOL. It seemed that before my time here, the Company executives were making a lot of bad/uninformed I.T. decisions while the I.T. department was basically just dealing with the fallout.

Though the company seemed hesitant to consider my advice, I was able to eventually get things updated and somewhat standardized. The results spoke for themselves, work orders dropped dramatically, majority of users seemed… dare I say… content. Things seemed to be doing well.

So, to my Point:

Unfortunately, the company is getting back to it’s old habits. While our software was somewhat standardized, the executives have basically started letting each employee dictate which software they use. We cycle through employees fairly often and of course each new user demands the software they used at their previous employer. The issue with this is probably obvious to most of you: costs, compatibility between users, wasted time managing all the individual support, patches, updates, licenses… the list goes on.

I’m all for improving software to make sure the employee can do their job. The ultimate goal of the company is to run efficiently and make their profit. But, at the same time I don’t feel user’s / execs always see the down side, they will always choose the software they know and won’t necessarily see the larger issues this fragmentation of software causes for the company.

My attempt to convince them otherwise has been largely ignored. Is this business as usual for smaller companies? Should I fight this or just suck it up?

I know the most popular advice would probably be “get that resume out there” but I’d over-all do enjoy my job and not considering that as an option right now.

Hope this didn’t come off as a rant, just looking for advice on how to handle a difficult situation.

I always value the communities opinions, thanks guys!

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If you listed out everything that is costing them more money than it should, and they’re okay with losing said money, then that is on them and not on you. If it gets to a point where you can no longer maintain everything and do your job efficiently, that is another discussion to be had. For the current topic, you can only do so much. It happens in a lot of places, unfortunately.

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Build a buisness case explain TCO and the added support cost related to disparate software solutions. You have to make it a $$$ thing.

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I agree with Mealy58. If you want to make meaningful, lasting reform, you will need leadership to buy into the decision and support you when users complain. To convince the leadership, you need to show how your plan will be good for the organization’s bottom line. By standardizing on software, you may save money directly on licensing costs or indirectly on time and money spent on supporting numerous applications. Show how the time/money savings will allow your department to do more, which means greater cost efficiency. If you can put a dollar amount on it, you can get their attention at least.

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I’ll illustrate a possible scenario and approach (and this is after you discuss TCO as well as using the term “opportunity cost” with management).

Set-up: the business is standardized on Adobe CC Suite (I picked the obvious example). Volume license is up to par, deployment strategies in place, and even some internal documentation exists (!!!).

NewGuy started Monday and his first request was to ask for the CorelDRAW suite*. You have no volume licensing agreement in place for this, and have not planned a deployment strategy (if you’re using SCCM or similar, it wouldn’t be that difficult, but I digress).

You have two approaches:

  1. NO!

  2. Why?

The first answer is obvious, and if I know this community well enough, it’s the knee-jerk reaction most of us will have. :slight_smile:

The second challenges the requester and the management to justify the request. You’re not saying “no,” but you’re also not saying “yes.” You’re putting the responsibility for justifying the immediate and hidden costs on NewGuy.

“What can you do with CorelDRAW suite that you can’t do with the CC products?”

The presumption here is that the job posting specifically listed Adobe CC products, and that was discussed in the interview. So for this scenario, we assume that the candidate has specifically said “I am capable of using Adobe CC products.”

NG: “Well, it’s just easier for me to use the CorelDRAW suite.”

You: "OK, I get that, but it’s $400 just to buy the suite. We also won’t know how many copies we’d need if we open that floodgate, so it could be up to 5 or more copies (aside: you’d know your company culture better than us, to determine whether the presence of this alternative software would cause others to start sniffing around). It’ll probably take about a week for the PO to get cut and sent out, unless we use a P-card. Then, it’s about 4 hours of my time to get the software, learn how to deploy it, TEST the deployment, and then unleash it to you.

At the same time, if you run into problems that are centered around CorelDRAW, support would be your responsibility, as we don’t have the expertise in supporting CorelDRAW (or it would take XYZ hours to get to that point, which means time we’re not spending on mission-critical projects).

So based on all of that, NG’s Manager, is CorelDRAW still the way to do even though we’re already licensed for and have the support structure in place for Adobe?"

This way, you’ve articulated your concerns without sounding like an obstructionist jerk, identified the costs, and laid the responsibility for the final decision in the big picture on someone else’s shoes.

  • I understand this particular request personally. I’ve used Paint Shop Pro since version 3, when it was a JASC product. After v9, JASC was acquired by Corel, but PSP remained largely the same. When PSP introduced vector drawing in v6, I had little to no need to learn Photoshop and Illustrator. I’m not a pro graphic designer, but do some image manipulation work here and there. With enough tutorials out there, I could touch up photos using the same tricks in PSP as Photoshop. I’m more comfortable with PSP, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.
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it is budget time and always a good chance to make a business case. make the case for your intended budget. then make business case for their current path. show them the savings between either case. the random “I want this program” purchase plan needs to have double the budget as you never know what they will want to use.

show them where making you more effective at supporting the systems. allows their workers to make them more money. they will be more efficient and easier to support.

Business people only understand how much it will cost them. make your efficient cost look better than the chaos they are trying to bring.

Case building should be a required class in any IT training program. it is totally relevant and makes life easier.

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My stock response is we don’t have a licence for that, but if you can’t live without it you need to make the case to your head of department. Bit of a cop out, but they, tend, not to come back.

However, if we have a licence for a similar package I’ll offer that instead and present it as an opportunity to learn something.

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PS.

Welcome to SpiceWorks.

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You want to stay despite the chaos around you… hmm… What’s her name?

Kidding aside, I won’t re-hash what everyone else said; you have to make it about time & money. You already knew that before you asked because you started making the case to us. You have a perfect and recent example to reinforce your case to management. That being said, If they’re okay with it–you don’t seem too upset about it–I don’t see you have many options other than leaving or becoming software Nazi.

Also, I find it strange that employees asking for what their previous employers used isn’t at least a little awkward (at least you made no mention of it). Seems obvious to me that step #1 of a new job is learning how they do things, not how you’ve done them before…

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First off, ignore any comments about ‘time to polish off the old resume’.
Second, I like the idea from Mealy58 ‘Build a buisness case explain TCO’

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Heck of a first post. Here’s a Spiceworks presentation you might find helpful:

If you can’t convince them with logic, put a ticketing system in place to document, clock, calculate every issue related to your problem. In time, you’ll have something to show them to justify your side.

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Put it in terms that your audience will understand, and you’ll get much better results!

For example: English versus Metric - Talk about how expensive it gets carrying two sets of tools everywhere. Then show how this geometrically explodes with software options.

Next, knowledge and productivity - Plumber versus Electrician versus Handyman versus Scab worker - You always want the best person for the job, and it is rare to have a person who is a union plumber AND a union electrician. While a handyman is useful for most things, that person is rarely well qualified to swap out with a union plumber or electrician. A scab worker is the least effective of the group, as they are often unfamiliar with current codes, work processes and so on. Explain how you fit into that scenario, because of all of these variations and different software solutions, and how it will cost the company more in terms of time and productivity for you to “relearn” how some packages work, as well as having minimal skills with specific products.

Software Licensing and Asset management - you can compare that to union dues, excise taxes, planning permits. One organized permit will cost less than 5 smaller permits, and you won’t have to worry about job overlap or outdated/conflicting work plans.

Lastly, falling back to old ways - The more complex a solution becomes, the harder it becomes to maintain. A new build has few customizations past the original drawings, while a remodel may get 3 or more trades involved, committing extra time, coordination and effort on the management’s part as well as your own. Having three plumbing systems and four different electrical systems is a logistical nightmare, and making further changes will only compound the problem and you’ll spend more time fixing things than improving them.

Make it a simple slideshow - 10 slides or less, and get 10 minutes of time w/ management. Give them a “what to do going forward…” slide for them to agree with, and to adhere to, as your solution.

Final note: For continuity, it is critical that a common set of formats is used throughout a design and implementation process. Having architects work in metric, while the carpenters work in English can spell trouble, and doing nothing to get the groups using one consistent solution will continue to create problems and delays again and again. No one really wants to go back to doing all drawings in DXF format, but that’s better than 4 different and frequently incompatible formats to manage and support.

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Totally agree with this Brian9460 has hit the nail on the head here and put it more eloquently than I would have.

@brian9460

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Do your homework. Gather costs. Gather tickets. Prepare a report.

=–> Get a list and cost of standardized software proposal, and an estimate on the current software jigsaw puzzle and its cost for comparison (+including support time)… and…

Hit the management with numbers indicating MONEY LOST as if THROWN AWAY.

Then state your winning strategy with MONEY SAVED (you can slightly overestimate).

Numbers with currency symbols tend to be the most persuasive in talks with the Management.

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You know your environment better than anyone here. How cost conscious is your C-level staff? If they aren’t cost conscious, are they time/efficiency conscious? Do they care about license compliance? Know your audience.

As much as loved working in the A&E industry, I don’t miss managing the software catalog. My former employer’s was a nightmare and we were never able to standardize, not even within individual departments.

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Document what it’s costing the company by their haphazard approach to software management. Some items such as licensing costs for each package, the amount of time lost due to interoperability, extra support costs are obvious. One cost item that you’re likely missing is the cost of all those unused licenses sitting on the shelf after the one employee who insisted on that software left.

Also, start and use a ticketing system and use it. If nothing else use the Spiceworks cloud helpdesk. If you can get a stand alone server (SW is about the only thing that requires it anymore) install Spiceworks on it and use both the helpdesk and inventory features. The inventory feature will report software that’s been uninstalled due to a buggy interaction between uninstallers leaving garbage behind in the registry and the Windows WMI software API, but it will at least get what had been installed on each machine at one time.

Finally, I’m going to tell you to make sure your resume is updated and publically available - you never know when an opportunity might knock. Make sure the knowledge you’ve gained by dealing with all these different software packages is reflected in the skills area of your resume, turning your current headache into a potential long term personal benefit. This is simply a best practice for life regardless of where you are and how much you enjoy your job. Keeping a publically updated resume doesn’t mean you’re looking for a new job, it just means that anyone looking for you has a chance of finding you.

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If a user wants to bring in their own software, a condition is that the company must purchase a support contract with the software and the user needs to call the software vendor for technical support. The reason for this is that you can’t be expected to support software on a per user basis.

Then provide them with an alternate standardized option that includes support from the IT department. IT is able to provide better service when everything is standardized. As you mentioned, you already have the data to back this up.

Then there’s the advantage of licensing discounts when you purchase in bulk.

All of this should be common sense to any business owner or CEO. So if you’re having to do a huge PowerPoint presentation to convince them of this, then you’re going to have a huge uphill battle.

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This doesn’t need to be that complicated. It’s a construction company. Does the company allow employees to just use any equipment they want on their projects or are there standardized tools and methods? If it’s BYOE, does the company support that equipment or does the employee need to deal with any repair or replacements? IT needs to follow the same practice. Relate to them in a way they can understand.

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Wow… first post from a three-year member? Welcome! :slight_smile:

I would also agree with the consensus of building a business case against, but I have another perspective to offer:

Sometimes, business is just wasteful.

My last job was at a large auto manufacturing facility, wherein we used four different CAD software packages. Some required ongoing licensing and maintenance purchases; some were draconian about licensing, with codes and secure websites; some demanded we download Gigs of install data and others sent us USB flash drives. It was all pretty expensive, but it all had a purpose.

Our Quality department used one package, but our CNC mill worked with designs in a different format. That required a different package that our only qualified operator knew how to use. Depending on the project, we might see two or more trials of different CAD packages in any given year, depending on the new hire/flavor of the month/edict from corporate up above. The guy they hired for Engineering had been trained in yet another different package. The list went on and on…

There is no standard for that industry, as evidenced by the multitude of products on the market. To standardize them would have saved us money in so many areas, and a lot of time spent with different vendors, but it would have caused other issues, too. For instance, we could have held out for an Engineering guy who knew CATIA instead of AutoCAD, but we would have missed out on a really talented and creative workhorse of an employee. The CNC mill didn’t work with designs from either of those products–I forget the name now, but it wasn’t a tremendously popular brand–so we would have had to make an exception for that, or use a lesser popular/compatible product exclusively in the plant, which could affect how we interacted with clients and over vendors. How much of our savings in licensing and IT efficiency would we lose in training costs and learning curve? How would we decide whether to make an exception, or multiple exceptions, or none at all? On which factors (of the many involved) would we base those decisions? And if we made such decisions, what were the odds (pretty darn good, actually) that corporate would come along in six months and override our choices by unilaterally forcing a new standard upon us?

My point is not to discourage you from attempting to clean up your environment. It is a logical, correct and worthy goal. I simply mean to say that sometimes business (especially business that involve big contracts and building things) is messy because reasons; even if the path forward seems logical, it may not be manageable.

Ultimately, make your best business case and document everything, then present it to the Powers That Be. If they deny your logical proposal, there are probably reasons for it, even if they aren’t shared and you don’t understand them. If that happens, let it go and look for other ways to streamline your duties. I know from experience that railing against the machine seldom does anything but agitate oneself in a never-ending cycle (which is one of the reasons I no longer work in a manufacturing facility). Do your due diligence and then work with what your paymasters hand you. In that environment, it’s the best you can hope for, and best for your sanity.

Best of luck; and once again, welcome.

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You don’t actually have a software standardization problem - you have a management problem.

You already made your case when your previous efforts resulted in better user experience and fewer support calls (reminder: support calls = $$$ even it is only your salary or hourly rate). Previous posts have stressed quantifying TCO, etc., so I won’t bother going there.

This is one of those areas where my three rules kick in big time: Be direct. Be Honest. Be Professional.

Present your case once more as others have outlined and be very direct in terms of dollars and cents. Be thorough but don’t exaggerate. Explain how this situation is not only costing the company time and money but you also feel that management’s approach to this is not respectful of you as a professional and is undercutting your ability to perform your job to their expectations.

They may see the light, they may not. If they don’t you have two choices. Either you salute, say “Yes, sir” (or ma’am) and keep the mop and buckets handy to clean up the inevitable mess (which is an acceptable if not satisfying solution) or you should polish up the resume/CV and start looking.

Good luck and welcome.

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