IT is being treated in a frivolous way, with far too much tinkering and not enough monitoring of the return on investment. But some of the buying patterns and management practices around today are enough to make one wonder. I'm thinking not only of the vast amount of disruption caused by the Love Letter virus, but also of the laissez-faire attitude that characterises so much IT practice today.
Internet access is tolerated.
Users have carte blanche to add their own software to their PCs and even to network drives. Some firms consider it OK for users to add video and other cards, and for IT staffers to support users' home PC problems. Of course, there are occasionally good reasons to subsidise the activities of users. For instance, a user who buys a Palm to keep track of diary appointments and contacts may be seen as taking an initiative that merits some help. But often the horror stories I hear from IT directors are clear cases of abuse.