The Static Page

A Corporate Desktop

One of the great qualities about a modern PC is how flexible it is. Being an essentially personal thing, customising it's look and feel, what applications are on it, etc etc are easily and readily done. It was this aspect of it that first endeared it to the corporate world. The mainframe-centric view of IT did not, of course, help any. Even if they weren't aware of it, they resented the control they didn't have over such a useful resource.

Of course, PCs came in anyway. And so did LANs to hook them all together. And gateways to get to the old mainframes. And other gateways to talk to other LANs in the corporation. And finally, gateways to talk to the Internet. Many businesses could probably not function without these essentially single-user devices in a myriad of workstations. And therein is a paradox. Many an aspect of corporate IT is still mired in a mainframe-centric, "glasshouse" view. This is where they dictate the environment you work in because it is a corporate resource after all.

Enter the lock-downed desktop. This is where certain aspects of the end-user's PC are defined by a corporate standard and cannot be changed by the end-user. Typically, such a scenario prevents the user tinkering with the TCP/IP settings, or deleting key components in the OS, but it also usually enforces standard software and prohibits foreign software being installed or sometimes other, personal touches, like colour settings. After all, these things are probably not what you're supposed to be fiddling with, are they? The PC is there for legitimate work. Moreover, such a setup also often allows easy PC replacement in the case of a repair being needed, which tends to have directly measurable benefits.

Unfortunately, sometimes user-land fights back. Such an approach is usually partially derailed by custom applications small (and generally non-IT) groups need to do their - guess what - legitimate work. Exceptions are usually made for PC-based developers in IT who need access to be able to install software. It also overlooks the purely morale-boosting effects of being able to customise your own desktop. Or being able to actually be more efficient due to some non-standard software. This is most usually an issue with those who dabble extensively at home, or (on the flip side) want more than be easily justified "because they're used to it".

We've all heard of horror stories about locked-down desktops. Some of us may (have to) work under them or under threat of one. Perhaps some of us support one. It could be crass of me to solicit mere horror-stories about it. Instead I want to broaden the net. Tell me hear where they work for you, and why. How much lockdown works for your company? What exceptions do you make (or know about)? Is the whole idea really viable or is the cost of creating it just too much?

Wade Bowmer, aka Static.

Comments? Email me at static dash page at yceran dot org.