IM what IM
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
lets talk about IM (instant messaging) and general surfing at the workplace.
when i first entered the workforce back in 1999, i was with a government statutory board. not surprisingly, their policy on IM and internet surfing were strict. initially, none of us could get on the internet from our desktop. gradually, a proxy server was used to control the sites that we could visit. we had to apply and list down the sites to be included in the proxy allow list, and if it is approved, we could then surf to those sites. simply put, u can only go to websites that have been reviewed and approved by management. by default, everything else is banned. this allow list grew bigger as more staff apply for more websites to be included. a few privileged ones had unrestricted internet access from their desktop, and i was one of them. i was part of the ISO14001 boardwide committee and the person in charge of doing 'research', so my application was approved by CIO, much to the chagrin of my fellow colleagues. for those who really absolutely needed to surf to those sites outside of the proxy allow list, they had to use a few common pc stations that were setup around the office. these stations do not have any surfing restrictions, however they also do not have any form of external drives (usb port, floppy, cd drive), so you cant copy anything out. IM was imposed with a total blanket ban.
after 4.5 yrs there, i next joined a private company (ok maybe a quasi-govt body). their policy was different, there were no restrictions at all, you could surf to anywhere and use IM freely. in fact i remembered using IM as a tool to transfer files back and forth between fellow colleagues, and with my clients at remote locations. i guess the bottomline is that we are considered vendors who had to meet customers' deadlines, and there is no time for red tape long drawn approval processes. everything had to be done in an instant, and if your customer is online, and u can use *instant* messaging to transfer files instantly, why not? there is no need to write an email with formalities, u drag and drop a document into their chat window, they get it, everyone's happy.
following that i went back to another govt statutory board, this time as a business analyst. similar to the stat board before, they had to conform to the ministry's strict guidelines on internet surfing. however my role was also to recommend new technologies to improve their business processes. the msn port was blocked, but we could still use web-based messengers to get online. my role was expanded to be the lotus notes administrator as well, and when i upgraded the notes server, i used the opportunity to also set up a notes sametime server, a unified communications and collaboration tool that includes enterprise IM - the need to work in realtime was picking up speed in organisations everywhere. i posted an article in the bulletin board that was positive about using IM at the workplace, management was swayed and the implementation was a success. almost everybody started to use it, they could see who is online from their email dashboard and easily discuss in realtime, some were even making webconferencing calls to our partners overseas. last i heard, sametime would be able connect with AOL, yahoo and google instant messaging. but i left before that happened.
my next job is at a local university. the policies here were based on the sheer volume of staff and students. with 7000+ staff and 30000+ students, managing their internet access with the policies above would be unproductive. so it was free-for-all, IMs were heavily used (can you imagine the protests from students if it was banned?) and internet surfing could be done campus-wide without any restrictions. we do however keep track on illegal downloads, especially where copyright is concerned. it was excellent, an environment most conducive for research (and other pleasurable things). we've reached progress where communications is concerned.
and now i'm here with another organisation, one that has links to the govt (it receives funding from a ministry). and i've felt that we've somewhat taken a step back. the dreadful proxy server is back in action, and it blocks profile sites (friendster, facebook), "gambling" sites (singaporepools) etc. it also blocks IM. since i am still in this organisation, my only comment on the policy is that there must be reasons why this is so, and strictly speaking, work is work and play is play. however, the tools of technology should be leveraged to its fullest, and people work in realtime now. everything is done in an instant, and instant messaging is simply, a tool. a blanket ban is practical, and it could easily be used (abused) negatively. but maybe its time to allow staff to manage their own time effectively, a full 8.5 hrs in front of the computer is productive, but as long as they get their job done, give them the trust to use tools that are available to them and let them use it effectively. maybe a little chat once in a while to discuss ideas, to transfer files, to have a little breather and have that outside 'contact' with someone they know and 'real' can be helpful in the long run. micromanaging every second is ridiculous.
i feel stifled.
an afternote
iva commented that her workplace did a study on their internet usage profile, and the 'social sites' made up a big percentage. they dont have a proxy server, but they restrict the bandwidth for social sites to 30%. mostly cos, if more than that, it would slow down their email speeds etc.
which i think, is pretty reasonable and a much better policy than a total blanket ban. something to ponder about.
when i first entered the workforce back in 1999, i was with a government statutory board. not surprisingly, their policy on IM and internet surfing were strict. initially, none of us could get on the internet from our desktop. gradually, a proxy server was used to control the sites that we could visit. we had to apply and list down the sites to be included in the proxy allow list, and if it is approved, we could then surf to those sites. simply put, u can only go to websites that have been reviewed and approved by management. by default, everything else is banned. this allow list grew bigger as more staff apply for more websites to be included. a few privileged ones had unrestricted internet access from their desktop, and i was one of them. i was part of the ISO14001 boardwide committee and the person in charge of doing 'research', so my application was approved by CIO, much to the chagrin of my fellow colleagues. for those who really absolutely needed to surf to those sites outside of the proxy allow list, they had to use a few common pc stations that were setup around the office. these stations do not have any surfing restrictions, however they also do not have any form of external drives (usb port, floppy, cd drive), so you cant copy anything out. IM was imposed with a total blanket ban.
after 4.5 yrs there, i next joined a private company (ok maybe a quasi-govt body). their policy was different, there were no restrictions at all, you could surf to anywhere and use IM freely. in fact i remembered using IM as a tool to transfer files back and forth between fellow colleagues, and with my clients at remote locations. i guess the bottomline is that we are considered vendors who had to meet customers' deadlines, and there is no time for red tape long drawn approval processes. everything had to be done in an instant, and if your customer is online, and u can use *instant* messaging to transfer files instantly, why not? there is no need to write an email with formalities, u drag and drop a document into their chat window, they get it, everyone's happy.
following that i went back to another govt statutory board, this time as a business analyst. similar to the stat board before, they had to conform to the ministry's strict guidelines on internet surfing. however my role was also to recommend new technologies to improve their business processes. the msn port was blocked, but we could still use web-based messengers to get online. my role was expanded to be the lotus notes administrator as well, and when i upgraded the notes server, i used the opportunity to also set up a notes sametime server, a unified communications and collaboration tool that includes enterprise IM - the need to work in realtime was picking up speed in organisations everywhere. i posted an article in the bulletin board that was positive about using IM at the workplace, management was swayed and the implementation was a success. almost everybody started to use it, they could see who is online from their email dashboard and easily discuss in realtime, some were even making webconferencing calls to our partners overseas. last i heard, sametime would be able connect with AOL, yahoo and google instant messaging. but i left before that happened.
my next job is at a local university. the policies here were based on the sheer volume of staff and students. with 7000+ staff and 30000+ students, managing their internet access with the policies above would be unproductive. so it was free-for-all, IMs were heavily used (can you imagine the protests from students if it was banned?) and internet surfing could be done campus-wide without any restrictions. we do however keep track on illegal downloads, especially where copyright is concerned. it was excellent, an environment most conducive for research (and other pleasurable things). we've reached progress where communications is concerned.
and now i'm here with another organisation, one that has links to the govt (it receives funding from a ministry). and i've felt that we've somewhat taken a step back. the dreadful proxy server is back in action, and it blocks profile sites (friendster, facebook), "gambling" sites (singaporepools) etc. it also blocks IM. since i am still in this organisation, my only comment on the policy is that there must be reasons why this is so, and strictly speaking, work is work and play is play. however, the tools of technology should be leveraged to its fullest, and people work in realtime now. everything is done in an instant, and instant messaging is simply, a tool. a blanket ban is practical, and it could easily be used (abused) negatively. but maybe its time to allow staff to manage their own time effectively, a full 8.5 hrs in front of the computer is productive, but as long as they get their job done, give them the trust to use tools that are available to them and let them use it effectively. maybe a little chat once in a while to discuss ideas, to transfer files, to have a little breather and have that outside 'contact' with someone they know and 'real' can be helpful in the long run. micromanaging every second is ridiculous.
i feel stifled.
an afternote
iva commented that her workplace did a study on their internet usage profile, and the 'social sites' made up a big percentage. they dont have a proxy server, but they restrict the bandwidth for social sites to 30%. mostly cos, if more than that, it would slow down their email speeds etc.
which i think, is pretty reasonable and a much better policy than a total blanket ban. something to ponder about.
