ZDNet Australia recently posted a story about a techie who had worked out how to fry an egg using the heat from his CPU and a handful of coins as a heat sink.
The pictures themselves were great--it's amazing what you can do with a few coins and a bit of tinfoil. But what struck me was the innovator's way of thinking of a solution to his problem (how to cook breakfast), using the equipment he had at hand (his PC).
One of the biggest complaints I come across from IT professionals at the moment is budgetary cuts, coupled with growing demands from the users in their organisations. As staff become more aware of what technology can do--and less scared of it--their demands for newer and faster kit grows exponentially.
Here lies the problem: how do you provide employees with more while using fewer resources to do it?
There's the prioritising method: 'yep, I know you need a new database, but we need to buy a couple of firewalls first'. But try explaining that to the user who is collecting piles of paper in file boxes while they're waiting for the new database to be installed.
I know compromising is tough to do when making purchasing decisions. It's not always possible to improvise or redeploy existing equipment. Yet, despite this, when budgets are tight sometimes there is no choice but to look outside the square.
How do you cope with growing user demands? What are some of the innovative solutions your tech department has implemented to overcome this pressing problem? Talkback below, or e-mail your comments toedit@zdnet.com.au
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