In a recent twist of this ???simple matter to integrate??? thought in action, one decision maker announced to staff members that IT will handle questions regarding their consumer devices without defining a policy. The result was IT group getting buried by user requests related to non-standard products from tablets to low-end wireless routers.

This left IT to create a defacto policy of only looking at devices used for work, at work. Even in those cases, work was only done to integrate the device with the work environment. The user is responsible for the maintenance and troubleshooting if there is an actual issue with the device outside of the work necessary elements.

As Don indicated, the ivory tower decision maker failed to examine the organization and staff before making this decision. Rather than making a blanket announcement, specifics should have been given. But in a way, the decision had political merit in that it made IT the bad guy and the decision maker look like a forward thinking manager.