Simple tips for easy outsourcing

Hello. I have been outsourcing for over 10 years. Over the years, naturally, a certain “own” methodology for the provision of services has been developed. I bring to your attention this article. Someone will find the article interesting, and someone will be angry at a randomly forgotten comma. I will answer right away - this article gave me the first invite, my first “prize” in the field of “audience sympathy”, which means that at least one person liked my work. And this means that I spent all night over the article not in vain.

So. What is outsourcing generally understood? I believe that this is a constant, episodic process of providing assistance services in solving some problems and problems in a certain society of people.
It turns out that we (outsourcers) help a group of people to do what they themselves are not able to do. Moreover, we do this all the time or (and) occasionally.
Naturally, outsourcing has certain rules of behavior and communication with users. Of course, a lot of links “google” on the Internet, but, nevertheless, I would like to provide my own * debut project *.

Presented to your attention are 10 "golden" rules that will help you more properly relate to your position. These tips were ALREADY criticized by representatives of outsourcing organizations, but, nevertheless, after several corrections, they were “approved” for publication. And so, please love and favor.

Rules for interaction with users:

1.Do not let the user relax. This is the first and most golden rule. We must immediately make it clear who is the boss in the house (corporate network, working PC). All statements like "I'm used to working in the ****** browser, install it for me" must be stopped immediately. There must be a corporate standard. And we must follow it. If everyone uses Opera, then EVERYONE uses Opera. The same applies to all other programs, utilities, and so on. Kaspersky? So Kaspersky. And not a word about Avast.

2. Neither any administrative rights.It flows from the first paragraph. Even if the general director ordered. No autowires. Only "simple user", "only hardcore." And the director needs to explain the whole essence of the problem of local administrators. I don’t stutter about domain admin rights ... they are, a priori, in the same hands. A maximum of two people in large companies. Recently, one “development director with a higher" IT "education" told me that he needed all the maximum permissions in our network so that he could monitor AD on a domain controller himself. "Shish in vegetable oil."

3. Not any personal laptops, tablets and other devices with access to the network and the Internet.This is the most common mistake. Why? Yes, because on a personal laptop there are likely to be “gates of hell” with a hotbed of viruses of all stripes and breeds that have been waiting for 2 years to connect to a network with shared resources. There may also be programs for downloading torrents that clog the entire Internet channel tightly with their traffic. All this in a working network is useless. Neither you nor the employee.

4. No “well, maybe we’ll agree?”. Often, users are asked to put them “Tanks”, “Dota”, “Merry Farmer”, etc., so that these “adult children” could play “exclusively” at lunch time. This is the first step into the abyss "well, you put a game for me, put it on Skype!". Yes, as in some companies it is prohibited. And in general, this practice very much shakes the "steadfastness" of the system administrator. Did it once - you will do it "for life." No matter how rude it may sound. Believe me, it’s better to say once a firm “no” than the rest of your career to suffer from “annoying” users.

5. The system administrator must be a system administrator.No work as a loader, picking up office paper in packages on the 4th floor without an elevator. This is not your job. Even if you are a “kind, trouble-free soul”, it is still not your job. They started to wear paper - get ready to be forced to unload office furniture and do a rearrangement because "you always did this, now take a hammer in your hands."

6. The order on the table, the order in the head. Each admin must be pedantic. Not even that. Each admin MUST be pedantic. If you have “bedlam” on your desk, desk, in your nightstand and you cannot find the right paper, part, etc. on time - You may not say that everything is all right in the server room. Most likely, the network wires are confused in a “tangle”, and under the pizza box are the long-promised bookkeeping “mice”.

7.Backup, and again, backup. And after backup - backup backup. Every self-respecting admin has backups. 3-4 copies in different places. Moreover, backups are not “their” files, but “everything”. Literally. In general, everything related to work. Backup at least once a week. Is there a mirror reid? Save it! Is there a mirrored backup? Backup mirrored RAID if there is free time and space (and money). It will NEVER be superfluous.
What if the fire and the extinguishing system did not work? A server room might just burn to the ground. Literally. When I worked at a pharmacological factory 9 years ago, I saw how the servers looked after a strong fire. Dismantling the screw in the laboratory in an attempt to pull out the “info”, pancakes turned yellow from the temperature and not suitable for restoration appear inside ... In such cases, a backup (even if it’s been a month ago) on your external medium or the "cloud" will excel you in your eyes General Director and (especially) accountants. You will be a kind of "superman" from the planet Krypton. Needless to say, this will be the most appropriate time to “ask” for an increase in salary?
There is a rule - there are never many backups. NEVER. Do you have free time? Make a backup. No time? Schedule a backup for tomorrow. And it’s better to set up the entire automatic backup system once and “forget” about this headache.

8. Do your work carefully.If you came to the user and solved his problem, do not be too lazy to "look" at the same time in the system log, as well as see the latest update date of the antivirus. This will save you time when problems arise. The log may contain information about hard drive failures, a sudden reboot of the system, to which the user simply does not attach any importance. But, perhaps, the next failure of the HDD can turn into a "brick". What if there was important data? After all, it was in your power to foresee this. An “incident” is always easier to foresee than to eliminate its consequences.

9. Watch your tongue. Nobody likes liars.If you promise to come to the user at 15:00, then you should appear at (approximately) this time. But if you are late regularly (2-10 times in a row), then another system administrator can easily and easily come to your place. And unexpectedly, say even tomorrow. Suddenly, an OK employee is already looking for a replacement. Management does not like to voice the decision to dismiss in advance. So if circumstances play against you, then find a way to warn the “client” about the delay. Believe me, it’s better to warn than to listen to “names” on the phone and subsequent “unpleasant” conversations with management.

10. In any situation, always remain human.Do not think that you are the coolest. There will always be 100 candidates in your place who are ready to work for a third of your salary. Now "divorced" system administrators, as lawyers in Yekaterinburg.
And yet (I'm afraid to disappoint you) you are not a source of space mind with unique abilities in the field of computer technology. Although it may seem (at times) that everyone around you think just that. Sorry, this is not the case. You are far from being the “hacker" from the movie "Password Swordfish." Always remember this. Especially when employees turn to you for help. Today Vasya asked to change his ball mouse to a new one, and tomorrow, if you refuse him (or forget about his request), you will be on the street because Vasya has been caring for Dasha, the director’s daughter for a long time, and the director of pre-retirement age is sleeping and sees a “promising Washuu-in-law at his post. Yes, and it happens.

Perhaps this can be continued even further, but I will dwell on this. Because further “nit-picking” to the profession will go further than “practical” advice. He left only 10 points without which system administration is a difficult task. I hope that this article will be read first by the BEGINNING system administrators, outsourcers, outsourcers, outsource providers, sysyuarsiki and so on ...
All conclusions are made only through my own experience and, hopefully, this experience is useful to someone else.
We begin to "throw stones." Where without it?

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