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Dealing with no IT budget

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by lionheart1982 1 view

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Caution: Very long post!

I like my job, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated with the fact that I have no budget to spend on getting anything done, and there are a lot of things which need to get done.

Here's some background on the situation - I am the IT Manager (and sole IT person) for a small business with about 10 employees; I've been here since November, although I took a leave of absence from May until August. The company has been in business for almost 10 years, and has gotten the vast majority of its systems second-hand, through liquidation auctions or some such thing. They've had several people in my position over that time, so the end result is that their technology infrastructure is a "Frankenstein's monster" of various vendors and software, with little or no standardization.

SERVERS
Our network server runs Windows 2003 Enterprise edition, from a "Not for Resale" copy that looks like it's one of those that you would get at Microsoft events (scarily, it says that it's unlicensed on the CD, and I cannot find any documentation). The web server (our primary business model is online) runs the same, again marked "Promotional Sample Not for resale". Instead of using Exchange for e-mail, we use a cheap-as-dirt basic POP3 account from a company called Intermedia (http://www.intermedia.net).

DESKTOPS
Every PC we have is a refurb machine from several years ago. There is no standardized vendor. We have three Compaqs, two IBMs, two Dell Precisions, and one ancient whitebox in the Warehouse. With the exception of the ancient machine, they all appear to be Pentium 4s, with about 512MB of RAM, and run Windows XP Professional (the ancient one has... I have no idea, probably a Pentium II, maybe 256MB RAM if it's lucky, and runs Windows 2000 Pro).

NETWORK AND TELEPHONY
The network is a hodgepodge of various bits and pieces, cobbled together over the years. There are a multitude of small, 5-port Netgear switches in various parts of the office, which all go into a Linksys switch and a 3Com switch, I think for failover but I'm not sure (it's a jumbled mess, with Cat5 cables hanging like weeds). We have both basic Cable and DSL for redundancy, and our phone system is provided by something called Bizfone, presumably because it was cheap (only about $200), although it actually works alright and with little to no administration required.

SOFTWARE
All the computers use Office 2000 Professional SR-1, although the only disc of it I can find looks to be a burned copy, so I have no idea if it's legit or not. Our back-end management system is a swamp of Classic ASP spaghetti code, based off of an open-source system called Comersus. There are dozens of bugs that crop up, and since the system is over 1,000 ASP files, it's nearly impossible to track them all down; I have to resort to the worst of the worst, making quick fixes on the live server, so my co-workers can do their job. A rewrite is in the works, because everyone in the office knows that it's shoddy crap, but the story is that they've put up with it for 5 years so far, and on my end I want to make sure it's at least working semi-efficiently so everyone can do their jobs while I work on version 2.

The big problem with all of this is that, in the end, I have no budget to improve anything. The owners are notoriously cheap in this regard - for example getting anti-virus software was dismissed if it would cost more than $50/PC (instead they said to install the free version of AVG, which technically speaking has a non-commercial license), and a third-party tool that would greatly increase our ability to manage our products and stay competitive was shot down for costing $1,000/month, with no discussion (i.e. Me: "It will cost about $1,000 a month, but--" Boss: "Too much.").

I would really, really like to start standardizing how things are done, and avoid being stuck in the past with regards to technology, but I don't know where to begin due to the fact that I have to do everything really cheap or (preferably) free, since I cannot get approval to spend money, or at the least any significant amount (I don't have a figure for what constitutes a "significant amount", but I'd say more than a couple hundred dollars, and even that would be pushing it). This is my first management-level position (although I admit it's not much of one) and the first time I'm in charge of the whole organization's IT operations, it's just I feel like my hands are tied because I need to fix things, but I can't requisition the resources necessary to fix it.

The two biggest problems I have to face are the lack of any license documentation, and the existing code in our ERP system:

The licenses frighten me the most, although management seems to be of "What are the chances someone will find out?" mentality, and actually think that everything is legit because they purchased it legit at an auction (of course, I can sell you an illegal copy of XP, and even though you legally paid for it, it's still illegal). I know for a fact that we only have a one-processor SQL Server license, running on a two-processor Xeon system; my boss swears up and down that we're legit, and said "We're a [f-ing] small business; I already paid [Microsoft] $5,000!" when I mentioned it to him. He now will remind me every so often that we're "completely legit" with the server, but to my knowledge we have never purchased a second processor license. I'm doubtful that we'd ever get audited or ratted out to the BSA, but I would not want to take the chance, even if it's a slim one.

The code is not complex, but very convoluted and uses really poor programming. Also there's the fact it's essentially legacy, since it's done in Classic ASP, with all the associated hackery of 1996-era ASP "applications". There are several dozen include files, cryptic variable names, and the like strewn about a thousand or more files, so lots of copy/paste going on as well. I have been considering a rewrite with .NET, but I don't even know if I can get the money to purchase Visual Studio. Also there's the fact that staying with the Microsoft platform forces the eventual upgrade down the road, and knowing that management is loathe to spend money on software, getting off that road is something to consider as well - it would be more difficult to hit the ground running, but once it was done, it would be better longterm. So I am also evaluating using Java for the revamp, since it will run on our Windows servers, and all the "industry standard" tools are pretty much free.

I've begun looking at free/open source alternatives to common things we use or should use, in order to at least have a standard "software suite" for all our PCs, but I've never really delved too much into it (just some dabbling in my spare time) so I don't know if it would make a compelling case to management. I also don't know how to make them aware of the licensing issues, since as I've stated (several times already while writing this) they swear up and down it's all legit - yet there's no documentation as far as the licenses.

I wish things were not as bad as they are, but unfortunately that's the hand fate has dealt me. I can't ethically leave it alone since I can see on an almost daily basis how it's screwing up our business and costing us money, so I *want* to fix it and set things right.

I know that some people here must be involved in a similar capacity with a small company - how do you manage to deal with having a lot of fixes needed, but no money available? Do you resort to open source software? For reasons I'd rather not go into, quitting and finding a new job isn't an option.

15 replies

by ed woychowsky

First, allow me to say that the licensing issues scare me spit-less. Without documentation it?s your word against theirs and take a guess who?ll win. Also, you might want to create a paper trail just in case it hits the fan and management decides to offer you up as a peace offering. Okay, now that that is out of my system, here is a list of things you might want to look into:
Open Office
Linux
Apache
Apache::ASP
MySQL
Firefox

All of the above are open source, so a visit from the BSA won?t be followed my every machine in the place being seized and a quart-million dollar bill. Oh, you might want to move quickly because your profile says your location which limits the geographic search area considerably. Never know who reads these posts.

by the scummy one

Ed beat me to it, but that was my suggestions. Look to Open Source, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING, write up a list of 'concerns' and send it in email to your manager. Make sure to receive a response from email as well. If he discusses it with you in person, request a follow up via email. Protect Yourself!!!

As you mention, many programs that are free for home use, require a license for business use. Make sure to mention this in the email trails several times and make sure that the responses are crystal clear!
But even this may not fully protect you, as being the IT manager, it is still our responsibility. However, they cant scapegoat you so easily.

You appear to be in a tough situation -- however it can get much worse if audited at any time or if someo0ne turns in your company for license violations.

by locrian_lyric

When I was in the wilderness of unemployment and had to take piecemeal contracts, I learned about every piece of freeware and open source out there.

Use it all.

by cmiller5400

If it were me, I would run, not walk from this place. Nothing good can come from this. But since you can't do this, here are a few suggestions.

1 - Use OpenOffice instead of MS Office if they are too cheap to buy it. http://www.openoffice.org/

2 - Hardware I would not worry about unless it starts to break, smoke etc. You can deal with that as it happens since the software is a bigger deal.

3 - Bite the bullet and find out if you are using any unlicensed software by preforming a software audit. If you can't show that you have a legal license to use it; either buy it or remove it. This should be your biggest concern since you could be liable if you can't provide proof. If they won't pony up the $$ to become legit, a call to the BSA may be in order. There is up to a $1 Million USD reward for this information. http://www.bsa.org/country/Anti-Piracy/Know%20the%20Law.aspx

EDIT: You can be audited at any time. I know this because the place where I worked was audited by MS. Luckily, we kept on top of the licensing issue and never had an issue.

by notsochiguy

A former employer of mine was also audited by MSFT out of the blue.

Apparently, they work a lot like the IRS (I suppose that says something in of itself): in that they work off of substantial tips, as well as random audits from a given geographic area.

It just so happened that our zip code and our name popped up on their screen. At least, that is what they said. We were in some pretty fierce competition with a couple of other firms, so it is possible one of them made a call on our 'behalf', and the 'lead auditor' was just blowing smoke.

However, between internal controls and strong vendor partnerships, we were fine.

Still, quite an inconvenience.

by lionheart1982

Thanks for the replies - I figured it was this bad. I'll have to take a look at the software we have and see what I can find and document it. I think it's more out of ignorance than anything else - my bosses aren't malicious, just frugal.

There is talk about upgrading, but it's a shady situation - the boss is part of a non-profit organization that's not related to our company, and is going to try and get heavily discounted software by purchasing it through that. I don't think that's legal, either, although he uses his work computer for things related to that organization as well as this one. None of the rest of us do, however, and he's talking about a company-wide upgrade.

I would rather look at free and/or open solutions, than deal with yet more shady licensing. Whether or not he thinks we will get audited, I don't think he's foolish enough to risk the business on the chance we are.

by locrian_lyric

Go the freeware/open source route.

Upgrade the hardware, but do it the smart way.

Given what you've said, you could probably do the upgrades on the cheap by going to a computer show, getting the parts, and building a new system from scratch.

Load it all up with open source and free-ware and everyone will be happy.

The downside is more work for you, the upside is no reservations at the gray-bar Hilton (prison)

by cmiller5400

Cheapskate and "penny wise, pound foolish" come to mind as well. They HAVE to know that it is against the law to do what they are doing; it is not just violating a contract, they are actually breaking FEDERAL LAW. Make them aware of it and then document to CYA. The more you document, the more they can't scape goat you. Remember, this may not just be a fine from the BSA, it could involve CRIMINAL charges that may be filed as well.

As far as using software that was bought as non-profit, that would be a HUGE no-no. Software licensed for a non-profit usually has verbiage that doesn't allow it to be used by anyone else except non-profit. Again, they would be opening themselves up being sued.

You should [b]really[/b] consider running in the other direction!! I know I would even though it may be tough, I wouldn't want to be around when they get audited. It isn't a question of IF, it is WHEN. If you do decide to leave, it may be worth your while to make sure that you have hard copies of the CYA e-mails etc to prove that you let them know about the issue and they refused to do anything about it just in case they still try to blame you.

I wish you the best of luck in trying to solve this tough problem. It probably is not going to be easy. Thank goodness that I have always worked at company's where they considered software licensing a serious issue.

by notsochiguy

This may result in the non-profit status getting revoked for the other firm.

I was part of a non-profit health care org, and this situation occurred with one of our competitors. They used the non-profit portion of the system to make purchases for their for-profit subsidiary.

They didn't get revoked, but they were threatened with it; and ended up ponying up quite a chunk of change (more than if they had just gone the legit route to begin with), and quite a few people got the chopping block treatment.

The issue (as it was explained to me) was circumvention of sales tax. The higher up the chain in the other organization the boss man is, the bigger the threat it would pose, I'd assume.

As others have mentioned, open source is probably the way you'll need to go for your company. Additionally, there are plenty of sites where you can buy systems that are coming off lease, have been repo'd, or just liquidated (Dell has an outlet site as well as an auction site...there is C-Tech up in Minnesota...etc, etc, etc) at tremendous value.

You may want to start looking at some SaaS offerings, too (Zoho, Google Apps, etc). Depending on need (both functionality and security/confidentiality) these products might align nicely with what the firm is trying to achieve.

Best of luck!

by santeewelding

I'm glad you did, reply, Lionheart.

The very first feature that jumps out is that your pay is the IT budget.

The second is that your know-how is on the line.

Third, you look to be exercising that know-how.

by bizzo

What he's doing is illegal and could end up in very deep, very hot water.

If your hands are tied and you HAVE to go the way of getting illegal software, then make sure you have a paper trail to cover your back.

If you can, replace as much of the illegal software with open source, this site http://www.osalt.com/ gives open source alternatives for almost all commercially available software.

Good luck man. If you can't leave, then please, cover your a$$.

by lionheart1982

The non-profit idea is something he suggested, and I did mention that it's not legit. The answer was "Well, if you use any part of your PC for then..." but he's the only one who does that. The rest of the office doesn't, and I think he's just trying to make excuses to justify it.

I'm having a devil of a time convincing him that we are NOT legit, and we're opening ourselves to a lot of bad juju. I mean, even our database is a little sketchy, since I think we only have a single processor license for SQL Server, and the computer it's running on has two processors. From what I've read, though, I can tell it to only utilize one and then we're in the clear, but I admit I haven't read deep into the EULA for SQL Server to see if that works.

by w2ktechman

Audits Happen
This is a Federal Offense
Criminal Charges may be applied to those responsible. Ask him if he really wants to risk JAIL time!
The Fines alone could kill the company and put him in Bankruptcy.

Make sure you have a paper trail/email trail showing your hands are tied. Refuse to service the Illegal SW each and every time until you are forced to (email/paper). Come up with a plan to Remove as much of the SW as possible, and to take legit routes. This plan should include timeline and training for the staff or those needed.

This WILL be a lot of work -- you may/should also add with the plan to bring in (at least) a temp or contractor to help, especially if this is out of your field of expertise.

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