While perusing a curriculum catalog for a local community college this week, I came upon page after page of descriptions of “certificate” courses. These courses culminate in a certification to install, configure, maintain, and manage computers running various variants of the Windows operating system. They bestow upon the graduate the title of IT (Information Technology) Manager (although, with all the viruses and security leaks besetting the Windows world, maybe a better title would be Doctor of Downtime). The graduate then enters the exciting world of consulting with businesses on “the right computer system for their needs”. But, do they really have the needs of the business in mind, or are they actually recommending systems that do one thing really well – that is, provide them job security for years to come?

If you’re an IT consultant, which system are you going to recommend? One that, once installed, requires relatively little support and training for users – meaning, of course, less hours on your time card? Or, do you recommend one that requires your certificated skills on a regular, frequent basis, thus ensuring a steady income stream, especially installing security updates, firewalls, and anti-virus measures?

It’s really a marvel of marketing ingenuity. Produce an enterprise computer solution that’s extremely complex and prone to flopping over, then recruit and train an army of people whose livelihood depends on fixing it, and certify them to “recommend” the system to businesses. The more businesses using the software, the more IT professionals required to keep it running. More IT professionals, more businesses being sold the “Bill (Gates) of Goods”, and the cycle just keeps churning and expanding.

In these economic times, with so many businesses worried about “the bottom line”, how many millions are lost due to the downtime caused by worms, viruses, Denial of Service attacks, and the like? What is that costing you, as increased IT costs are passed down to you at the store or warehouse? And there are the IT Managers, slinking around “fixing” things, hoping that management won’t wise up to the fact that the IT department got them into this in the first place. Because, instead of recommending the best computer for the job, IT recommended the best computer for their job.

Now, you’re saying, “how does this affect me?”

You’re not a big corporation. You can’t afford an IT department. You simply want a computer that will “just work”. You want to surf the web, send and receive email, maybe catalog and store digital photos or edit a little video, keep your addresses and phone numbers organized, and occasionally play a spirited game of Solitaire - which, as far as I can tell, is the most used Windows software (next to anti-virus software, of course).

My point in all of this? If you’re tired of living in fear of MSBlaster, SoBig.F, Welchia, or whatever the next mailbox blight is called, there is a way out.

If your web surfing is reduced to closing annoying pop-up windows displaying ads for things you don’t want, there is hope.

If your CTRL-ALT-DELETE keys are worn down so much that you can barely read the letters, there is an alternative. If your computer time is spent filling in the colors in Big Brother Bill’s paint-by-number scheme, there is a clean canvas of freedom out there.

I know this is sounding pretty esoteric, but think about it this way. Do you really want to invest your money (and time, as forced restarts do waste a lot of it) in a computer for your home or small business that runs basically the same system that corporations employ armies of trained professionals to maintain? Think about it.

© 2003 Peter F. Zimowski