Underground

Wow, it's bright up here on the surface. :-)

We've been underground with projects to replace/upgrade NetWare with OES on SLES, improve our management processes for those new systems, and replace our MCI/Verizon Frame Relay network with a Sprint MPLS network - the latter of course involved us rearchitecting our Cisco VoIP infrastructure. Still to come, migration of our internet from a 6MBps Verizon pipe to a 12MBps Sprint circuit...lots of IP address, firewall, and routing considerations to plan for there.

Despite the busyness (not business), interestingly, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to continue investing myself as fully as I had previously into my work. I really do care quite deeply about the performance and success of my group, but most especially this company. I hate thinking that we pour 100% of ourselves into establishing world-class services on a shoestring budget, and that those efforts aren't appreciated or even leveraged by the businesses we support.

I find myself increasingly looking for ways we can use what we have developed by way of processes and skillsets, and branch out into servicing other customers - ideally, customers who clearly see the need for IT but are incapable of developing an IT competency themselves.

Short of that, it will continue to be very frustrating to have worked so hard at developing capabilities, which management is unable or unwilling to adopt as tools to facilitate positive change.