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What IT Folks REALLY Think

Do you know what your IT staffers are thinking? Are you sure? Unless you're in the trenches with them, their concerns may surprise you -- and they'll definitely make you laugh.

At bMighty.com, we spend a lot of time thinking about the needs of IT professionals in small and midsize companies. And I recently got a chance to hang out with a bunch of IT managers for a few days at Spiceworks inaugural Spiceworld user conference, and their worries, frustrations, and coping mechanisms tell a story that's important to everyone from clueless end users to sophisticated CIOs.

As I lay out in my lastest bMighty.com column --What IT Folks REALLY Think -- there's a whole lot of frustration going on:

"The defining moment came via a question from a New England-based IT manager, who wanted to know when "enough was enough." At what point, he wondered, could he tell off the engineers at his company when they continually asked stupid questions, imposed unreasonable demands, and showed a lack of respect for his team. What do we do when they push us too far? When are we allowed to snap?"

You can probably guess the answer, but that's not really the point. He knew the answer when he asked the question. The real issue is that many of the attendees shared his frustration and anger. They felt cut out of key management decisions and abused by the very users they were supposed to support.

That's a real concern for companies hoping to leverage technology in today's challenging business environment. But it also engenders a kind of gallows humor amongst the IT staffers. So you may want to check out some of the common "User-Avoidance Techniques" they turn to (Reboot and try again is No. 1, of course), or the less-than-complimentary acronyms that IT folks employ to describe users (do you know what a PICNIC is?).

The news isn't all bad, though. I also share the top 5 reasons they like working in IT. And the No. 1 reason is that they like to solve problems.

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