On the technology front, we're building and rebuilding network and systems infrastructure, doubling the number of Ethernet connections each of the past three years to around 5,000 today, deploying wide-area links, ATM, wireless, database servers, Web technologies, you name it. Managing these changes hasn't been easy, neither for my technical staff nor for our internal customers. We've had to invent new ways of doing business, pushing expertise and support out closer to where the real work of the organization gets done, and retraining many of our staff in new technologies. This has all taken place during an era of significant budget cuts, forcing tough choices on priorities. You can afford to take chances on new technologies.
People are accustomed to frequent system changes and unexpected downtime.
We may be willing to bleed at the edge a bit more than some, but make no mistake about it, we have a business to run, or so I'm told on a daily basis. When It Breaks I once knew a technical engineer whom I'll call Bill. Bill was a technical genius, a guru if you will. He was proud of the network he had designed and built and he could fix any problem that might arise. I love people who design systems that don't dev elop problems that need fixing.