Can IT and end users get along?

IT managers want to tell end users one thing: We are not the enemy.

"IT has a reputation for being aloof, geeky and non-communicative. I don't want to do anything to make that any worse," says Kerry Miller, network engineer at First Victoria National Bank in Victoria, Texas. Miller says he carefully weighs user requests for technology or services so as not to further alienate the community he serves. Sometimes the technology request doesn't address a critical business need, poses a security risk or exceeds the limits of the IT budget, but he is certain to clearly articulate why a request must be denied. "If you just tell them 'no' without a detailed reason, it adds to their suspicions that we really are 'Network Nazis,'" he says.

Miller works against the stereotype of IT professionals not only because he likes to think of himself as more than a cruel dictator governing the end-user community with an iron fist, but also because positive relations with company employees, partners and customers helps IT better do its job of delivering services and protecting corporate assets. Research shows that the perception of IT as the network police drives users to engage in dangerous behavior that puts themselves and corporate assets at risk. And recent surveys reveal that many users work around set corporate policies to more easily do their job or to access personal data via company resources. 

Readers commenting on Network World's recent story detailing some of the more risky user behaviors happening today say that while IT professionals can't stop monitoring actions and reminding end users to comply with corporate policies, the perception of IT among users needs to change going forward and vice versa.

"[The problem] is both, of course, IT and end users. The biggest problem with the infamous [Wall Street Journal] article and at many sites with 'users behaving badly' is the perception that IT is the enemy of productivity, something to be circumvented if you want to get any work done," one reader wrote in an online forum discussing the topic. 

IT professionals say the opposite is true. The function of IT is to support the business and those working there, and it is not IT managers' intention to hinder productivity or limit safe, work-oriented behavior. Yet in this era of data breaches and sophisticated security attacks, IT pros say they need to be more vigilant in protecting corporate resources, which include end users.

"Our job is to keep the network up and running as efficiently as possible so that end users can do their work. We are not looking to catch end users, but we are hoping to curb some behaviors that could lead to bigger problems at the company," says Chris Majauckas, computer technology manager for Metrocorp Publications in Boston. "We are a cost center of the company; we don't generate revenue so we want the end users to be able to do their work and generate revenue so we can get a pay check. But more times than not it seems they are working against us."