How can I convince corporate IT that I need a Blackberry?
December 13, 2007 10:45 AM Subscribe
How can I convince corporate IT that I need a Blackberry?
I work for a Fortune 100 company that has decided that a Blackberry can only be used by a VP level and higher(on the corporate Blackberry server). Myself and many of my peers, with local management approval, got the phones and forwarded our mail to them to get around their rules. IT has figured this out and intends to stop it because it violates our company's security policy.
I travel many times more than the people who get them but it does not appear that corporate IT cares. My local management is willing to support the on-going cost for it but has no power.
Has anyone else fought this battle and won?
I work for a Fortune 100 company that has decided that a Blackberry can only be used by a VP level and higher(on the corporate Blackberry server). Myself and many of my peers, with local management approval, got the phones and forwarded our mail to them to get around their rules. IT has figured this out and intends to stop it because it violates our company's security policy.
I travel many times more than the people who get them but it does not appear that corporate IT cares. My local management is willing to support the on-going cost for it but has no power.
Has anyone else fought this battle and won?
I don't think the problem here is the IT people; it's whoever decided that only VP and above get one. The IT people are clamping down because having everyone redirecting mail all over the place is a security risk and probably violates all sorts of rules and dictats about securing email; I'll be that someone is redirecting to hotmail or gmail, and they are worried about corporate espionage or the like. So, I would suggest that you deal with the policy, not the IT people. Ask them who set up the VP and above policy, and talk to them.
posted by baggers at 11:18 AM on December 13, 2007
posted by baggers at 11:18 AM on December 13, 2007
If you're going to "win" the battle, you're going to have to put yourself in your IT department's shoes for a while, and understand what dropping down Blackberry support for a whole additional tier of personnel in your organization means. Because fast forwarding email for 1,000 new users, just like you, isn't just a matter of adding a few accounts to an existing server.
Corporate e-mail, especially Blackberry style, is something of a pyramid product. As the user base pyramid expands at the bottom, the support and infrastructure issues grow, not at linear rates, but at exponential ones. To keep the speed and support that the senior people have come to expect on a small, lightly loaded single Blackberry server "executive" product, and yet add several hundred, or several thousand users, your IT department is going to need not only several more good-sized servers, but load balancers and backup strategies and devices to handle all that mail, which will be increasingly popular, the more people get added to the system.
So, if your local management is down for 4 to 5 figures annually of communication expense, get that message through to IT. Help 'em make it real, for everyone. They may not love you, but they'll respect you, for respecting them.
But don't be the "it's just one more" weasel.
posted by paulsc at 11:22 AM on December 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
Corporate e-mail, especially Blackberry style, is something of a pyramid product. As the user base pyramid expands at the bottom, the support and infrastructure issues grow, not at linear rates, but at exponential ones. To keep the speed and support that the senior people have come to expect on a small, lightly loaded single Blackberry server "executive" product, and yet add several hundred, or several thousand users, your IT department is going to need not only several more good-sized servers, but load balancers and backup strategies and devices to handle all that mail, which will be increasingly popular, the more people get added to the system.
So, if your local management is down for 4 to 5 figures annually of communication expense, get that message through to IT. Help 'em make it real, for everyone. They may not love you, but they'll respect you, for respecting them.
But don't be the "it's just one more" weasel.
posted by paulsc at 11:22 AM on December 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
a change in policy is in order, which would be far more of a good deed than just getting a workaround for yourself. I suspect one would write up a report with an argument, which would be used tactically.
1) what are you and your peers? Sales persons or technical? What is the political relationship of your department to the IT department? Can you successfully escalate this?
2) You probably have lots of measurable proof that you can be trusted on the corporate server with the 'berries. Also, have you documented your use of the devices? If so, probably also have lots of measurable proof of ways that this would be useful (cases: hell caused by emails not reached due to shite internet/vpn problems/dead laptop)
3) Maybe some sort of individual review or security committee as-needed by IT and some ducats to IT to pay for this time and the additional resources required would sweeten the deal.
posted by By The Grace of God at 11:35 AM on December 13, 2007
1) what are you and your peers? Sales persons or technical? What is the political relationship of your department to the IT department? Can you successfully escalate this?
2) You probably have lots of measurable proof that you can be trusted on the corporate server with the 'berries. Also, have you documented your use of the devices? If so, probably also have lots of measurable proof of ways that this would be useful (cases: hell caused by emails not reached due to shite internet/vpn problems/dead laptop)
3) Maybe some sort of individual review or security committee as-needed by IT and some ducats to IT to pay for this time and the additional resources required would sweeten the deal.
posted by By The Grace of God at 11:35 AM on December 13, 2007
Response by poster: I agree that forward company e-mail out to another account is security risk but it worked and I jumped on the opportunity. I asked for forgiveness not permission.
@paulsc - I expected that a large expense would be the issue here as the policy would limit the number of users and not type of position. Our branch is charged a monthly technology fee for our laptops and I was hoping they would increase that by $20/month/user to reimburse for the equipment/license/bandwidth, etc.
posted by rholly at 12:13 PM on December 13, 2007
@paulsc - I expected that a large expense would be the issue here as the policy would limit the number of users and not type of position. Our branch is charged a monthly technology fee for our laptops and I was hoping they would increase that by $20/month/user to reimburse for the equipment/license/bandwidth, etc.
posted by rholly at 12:13 PM on December 13, 2007
Really, your IT department is enforcing policy handed down from above them. If they bend the rules for you, they are exposing themselves to punishment from upper management, and, in some heavily regulated industries, possible civil and even criminal liability for not enforcing policy.
I agree with baggers et. al. and say you need to find out who wrote the policy and give them legitimate business reasons why the policy needs to be changed.
Oh, and in our company, what you did to get around the policy would have resulted in you being immediately dismissed and security would have escorted you out.
posted by grumpy at 12:25 PM on December 13, 2007
I agree with baggers et. al. and say you need to find out who wrote the policy and give them legitimate business reasons why the policy needs to be changed.
Oh, and in our company, what you did to get around the policy would have resulted in you being immediately dismissed and security would have escorted you out.
posted by grumpy at 12:25 PM on December 13, 2007
Response by poster: My position is a sales/consulting engineer. I don't have the power to get them to change their minds and many above me have failed when they asked for an official Blackberry. I'd rather not be the exception and leave out my peers as it would not be winning the war.
My peers and I have lots of stories to help our case but I feel the issue is similar to what PAULSC described...it's about money. They don't care.
I thought competition might help...
I wondered about comparing us to our main competitor but their policy is similar to ours.
I also wondered if RIM had some stats that showed # of official Blackberry users per company for the large companies. This would not be entirely valid as different type jobs would slant the numbers.
Is there anyone out here from RIM that could help?
posted by rholly at 12:25 PM on December 13, 2007
My peers and I have lots of stories to help our case but I feel the issue is similar to what PAULSC described...it's about money. They don't care.
I thought competition might help...
I wondered about comparing us to our main competitor but their policy is similar to ours.
I also wondered if RIM had some stats that showed # of official Blackberry users per company for the large companies. This would not be entirely valid as different type jobs would slant the numbers.
Is there anyone out here from RIM that could help?
posted by rholly at 12:25 PM on December 13, 2007
Could you try and get remote login access? My old employer had a WAP mail login so you could get your mail from anywhere, but it wasn't being sent to your phone.
I got my BB shortly after I missed a time-sensitive important email while on the road. While I don't recommend this approach in concert, that would be an ideal "business reason." If your productivity or that of your department declines (i.e. you miss sales opportunities because you aren't getting the emails), your managers might complain a bit louder or someone might take a second look at the policy.
posted by ml98tu at 12:27 PM on December 13, 2007
I got my BB shortly after I missed a time-sensitive important email while on the road. While I don't recommend this approach in concert, that would be an ideal "business reason." If your productivity or that of your department declines (i.e. you miss sales opportunities because you aren't getting the emails), your managers might complain a bit louder or someone might take a second look at the policy.
posted by ml98tu at 12:27 PM on December 13, 2007
The individual license costs for a Blackberry server are not terrible. If it is purely about money, you could get together with 9 other people in your boat and together offer to purchase a 10 user license pack out of your own pockets. See if that will get them to budge.
posted by grumpy at 12:36 PM on December 13, 2007
posted by grumpy at 12:36 PM on December 13, 2007
No, no.
The way to handle this is to go along with it. Don't try to circumvent it. There exist people with Blackberrys, so there exists some qualification mechanism (even if it is just "job title", in which case it'll be tough).
Missed an important email? "Sorry.. I was en route to Timbuktu..." You say local management has no power. If *nobody* locally has one you may have problems, but as long as there's precedent for one there is likely at least one person (the head) of the local branch that can make your case after there is a demonstrated adverse effect to not having one.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 1:15 PM on December 13, 2007
The way to handle this is to go along with it. Don't try to circumvent it. There exist people with Blackberrys, so there exists some qualification mechanism (even if it is just "job title", in which case it'll be tough).
Missed an important email? "Sorry.. I was en route to Timbuktu..." You say local management has no power. If *nobody* locally has one you may have problems, but as long as there's precedent for one there is likely at least one person (the head) of the local branch that can make your case after there is a demonstrated adverse effect to not having one.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 1:15 PM on December 13, 2007
Response by poster: @RikiTikiTava - My boss was denied one but his boss has one. She can't live without it but she had it from a previous corporate role. I discussed this subject with her once and determined she lacked the power to get anyone else one.
I expect to have to "miss" important e-mails to get my point across.....I just hate large company bureaucracy and feeling powerless.
posted by rholly at 3:55 PM on December 13, 2007
I expect to have to "miss" important e-mails to get my point across.....I just hate large company bureaucracy and feeling powerless.
posted by rholly at 3:55 PM on December 13, 2007
IT has figured this out and intends to stop it because it violates our company's security policy.
It's about the money.
Which is it, because these are two very different things?
You went around security, in a gleeful, almost childish act of rebellion. You have to recognize that IT is going to be predisposed against you for that alone. Then you say it is about the money--do you really expect them to pay for your Blackberry and your Blackberry service after you ignored their policies? I'm not saying the policy makes sense--in my mind, it's a silly rule--but I can't think it was arbitrary, either. You're not an IT guy, and IT says no Blackberry. Assume they have some reason for making this policy.
The only way you are going to win this is by proving yourself utterly invaluable to the company, or, as grumpy says, to offer to pay for the Blackberry service yourself. The right tack depends on whether this is actually a security issue--in which case you had better be invaluable, because you have already shown you can't be trusted by your workaround solution--or if it is a monetary one.
Frankly, the "Oh, I couldn't get that because I didn't have access to a Blackberry to take the call," approach would have been a much better strategy than the workaround you used to begin with. Now, though, it's going to come across as utter insubordination, and when the time comes to make an example out of someone for form's sake, your name will be at the top of the list.
posted by misha at 6:06 PM on December 13, 2007
It's about the money.
Which is it, because these are two very different things?
You went around security, in a gleeful, almost childish act of rebellion. You have to recognize that IT is going to be predisposed against you for that alone. Then you say it is about the money--do you really expect them to pay for your Blackberry and your Blackberry service after you ignored their policies? I'm not saying the policy makes sense--in my mind, it's a silly rule--but I can't think it was arbitrary, either. You're not an IT guy, and IT says no Blackberry. Assume they have some reason for making this policy.
The only way you are going to win this is by proving yourself utterly invaluable to the company, or, as grumpy says, to offer to pay for the Blackberry service yourself. The right tack depends on whether this is actually a security issue--in which case you had better be invaluable, because you have already shown you can't be trusted by your workaround solution--or if it is a monetary one.
Frankly, the "Oh, I couldn't get that because I didn't have access to a Blackberry to take the call," approach would have been a much better strategy than the workaround you used to begin with. Now, though, it's going to come across as utter insubordination, and when the time comes to make an example out of someone for form's sake, your name will be at the top of the list.
posted by misha at 6:06 PM on December 13, 2007
If you have the money you can easily scale up the number of BES users by just purchasing more Client Access Licenses (CALs). A 5 pack runs $429
posted by ijoyner at 7:06 AM on December 14, 2007
posted by ijoyner at 7:06 AM on December 14, 2007
Response by poster: -Misha: The corporate policy prohibits you from forwarding your mail to an outside source(blackberry) but allows "official" blackberry users if you are on the official server. The criteria for official users is VP level and higher. They allow Blackberrys...just for certain people.
FWIW, I was one of the last to receive my unofficial blackberry from the previous management structure. I had 3 levels of management above me who were doing the same thing so they would heading out the door with me if HR decided we violated the rules. I don't see anyone in my branch with enough power to get me one even if I was invaluable. Corporate IT just won't do it. This, in my opinion, is a corporate versus branch/field organization issue.
On the cost side, branches act like a small companies and they are willing to support some portion of the cost..they already pay the $44/month data charges from AT&T for me and others. That's why I wondered if we get could corporate IT to spread the charges out over time to recover the capital and operating costs. I would even pay for a portion of the costs because it make me more productive. I even bought the phone myself.
posted by rholly at 10:06 AM on December 14, 2007
FWIW, I was one of the last to receive my unofficial blackberry from the previous management structure. I had 3 levels of management above me who were doing the same thing so they would heading out the door with me if HR decided we violated the rules. I don't see anyone in my branch with enough power to get me one even if I was invaluable. Corporate IT just won't do it. This, in my opinion, is a corporate versus branch/field organization issue.
On the cost side, branches act like a small companies and they are willing to support some portion of the cost..they already pay the $44/month data charges from AT&T for me and others. That's why I wondered if we get could corporate IT to spread the charges out over time to recover the capital and operating costs. I would even pay for a portion of the costs because it make me more productive. I even bought the phone myself.
posted by rholly at 10:06 AM on December 14, 2007
Response by poster: Is it too much to expect IT to support the business, not be a preventer? Why should a bean counter 1,000 miles from me determine if I'm worthy for a Blackberry?
I've noticed that people will become resourceful in this company to solve problems that IT fails to address. When the wireless networks in a few branches started failing and IT refused to fix them, people brought in routers and set up their own. This same company has failed to implement a backup system after shutting down the old one 15 months ago. We've all had to buy external drives to backup our own laptops.
Circumventing the IT department to get things done just seems natural in this company.
Go ahead, flame away.
posted by rholly at 10:18 AM on December 14, 2007
I've noticed that people will become resourceful in this company to solve problems that IT fails to address. When the wireless networks in a few branches started failing and IT refused to fix them, people brought in routers and set up their own. This same company has failed to implement a backup system after shutting down the old one 15 months ago. We've all had to buy external drives to backup our own laptops.
Circumventing the IT department to get things done just seems natural in this company.
Go ahead, flame away.
posted by rholly at 10:18 AM on December 14, 2007
rholly, thanks for the clarification. Sorry if I sounded snarky.
posted by misha at 5:38 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by misha at 5:38 PM on December 14, 2007
Response by poster: Just an update for this topic if anyone reads this in the future. The VP of finance controlled the list of job titles that were allowed to have one. Your individual productivity story was irrelevant. After a significant number of people, including me, badgered the VP of the division, he fought to get the approval process as part of his job description. After he wins, it will be up to the local management to make the decision. Politics wins again.
posted by rholly at 8:59 AM on January 27, 2008
posted by rholly at 8:59 AM on January 27, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
ie, if you're going to be travelling, leave the redirector running on your (locked) office machine
it's not quite as reliable, but does an end-run around the whole blackberry server issue
posted by Oktober at 11:11 AM on December 13, 2007