I can't stop you from loading that software, but if I catch you doing it we will never respond to your support calls again. This is no small threat to executives who don' t have an engineering degree. Undaunted, my friend decided to go it alone when he bought a new IBM ThinkPad. You would think there would be a way to balance IT demands for control with productivity needs of different functional areas, but the chain of command in most large companies makes that nearly impossible. When IT gets too centralized and insular, financed by an independent budget, it moves beyond the reach of any particular department.
Requests have to be escalated to the top before they have any impact.
Life is too short to take on political crusades, so divorce becomes a compelling option. The division now has a contract out for bid to outsource all IT functions. While this will undoubtedly take money from its bottom line, at least people will be able to get their jobs done. And best of all, they'll be treated like valued customers instead of hapless supplicants. There's a lesson in here somewhere.