The incompentency of governmental IT
I will say that the Information Technology staff that I have “heard” about in most governments could probably be compared side-by-side to the Australian IT staff (management included.)
But this is the exact reason I have despised many-a-IT staff member for their incompetency by flinging around certifications like they actually meant something. Usually these are the same numbskulls that have never touched a linux box in their life, don’t know what CLI means, think open-source software means no support, and are paid somewhere between 50k-100k for technical fervor equivalent to a wet blanket.
And you ask, why all this animosity? Case in point. Slashdot posts that eighteen AIX servers from the Australian government were not wiped, with ALL financial, payroll and other records still intact, along with backup tapes. All this for fourteen US dollars a server.
While most geeky people would just laugh at the government for such a stupid mistake, I point my finger at the IT management and staff for blame. Why? Management should know better. I have never liked technical positions managed by a bunch of suits that couldn’t tell you what the difference between RAM and ROM was. IT staff should get fired for not knowing better to security wipe those AIX servers. Backup tapes were given? They should have gone to a secure waste disposal facility.
Harsh? Perhaps. But Information Technology has been long overdue for a change in the ranks. As we push further into the Information Age, those that are not willing to look for alternative solutions and be open to all solutions need to be filtered out. IT is not an easy money field as most tend to think. Then again, you could always act like the Australian IT guys.
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