The ups and downs of life in IT
A look back at stories from Off the Record's early years
Follow @ifw_otrInfoWorld launched Off the Record in August 2005. The stories, then as now, are anonymous, first-person accounts of life in IT. Some of the tales describe tech situations and management clashes unique to years ago, but often the lessons learned are timeless. Still others describe those crazy tech adventures that crop up from time to time.
Here's a look back at some of the reader tales from Off the Record's early years.
The case of the disappearing datacenter
You hired experts to ship your equipment to a new location. Any other brilliant ideas?
[ Want to cash in on your IT experiences? Send your story to offtherecord@infoworld.com. If we publish it, we'll send you a $50 American Express gift card. ]
Web site disasters made easy
Want to flush $6 million down the drain fixing an e-commerce site that isn't broken?
'Just fix it' is not a viable strategy for complex IT problems
When your boss has more money than sense, look out when the rug starts moving underneath you
Devilish details dash software project
Only his partner had the insider knowledge needed to finish the app. Guess who was left holding the bag
When your VoIP vendor goes bye-bye
References and specs aren't enough; check the financials before hiring a company to do a major installation
How to get rewarded for incompetence
Sometimes doing your job as badly as possible pays off, especially when the boss is watching
The last IT worker standing
When laid-off knowledge workers hold the key to undocumented data, expect the worst
When your clients hate IT
Beware bad blood between project managers and users
When competitive advantage isn't advantageous
Be willing to rethink your business model, or risk going under
The real enemies of IT
Why politics and software don't mix
