Employees request for Software...how do you handle it?

[TheTechWookie]

So I have someone send out a joke .ppt file in my office, and now im getting requests from users to install powerpoint on their machine. I know its because of the joke email, because its from users who would never need powerpoint for their job.

How do you handle requests like this. I try to get them to explain to me exactly why they need it, that software is not free, the license is about $400 (for office 2010 STD OPL) and if they absolutely need it for business-related matters, I will seek approval from the vice president.

That usually gets them to be quiet.

How do you handle these types of requests?

[Momerath]

Give them the free PowerPoint viewer then fire them for wasting time viewing joke emails during work hours :)

[TheTechWookie]

Well but in all seriousness, why should I give them the free powerpoint viewer? Honestly. If there is no reason they would need it other than to view joke ppt files, which I dont want them wasting time with, why should they have even the viewer?

[Momerath]

If there is no reason other than that, then no, they don't get it. But I've never worked in a place where the bosses didn't send out ppt slides of various company presentations (how well we are doing, how bad we are doing, why you need to work smarter, not harder, etc.) It always been pretty standard that they all get PPT viewer, Word viewer, etc.

One thing to consider: Will you spend more time explaining why they can't have the viewer software than you would spend giving it to everyone?

[Narue]

How do you handle these types of requests?

I would require them to fill out a software request form with business justification. Then if the justification doesn't have a suitable ROI for the license and maintenance costs, that would give me a defensible position for rejecting the request.

[TheTechWookie]

Will you spend more time explaining why they can't have the viewer software than you would spend giving it to everyone?

Frankly, yes. :)

Im fairly new here, about 6 months, as being the IT manager. Before me they hadno IT management. People got into the habit of asking for software and they would just install it. They gave little to no thought to licensing and software compliance.

Now im here and im changing that. If you have no use for it, you dont get it. We stay compliant.

Now I know that powerpoint viewer is free. But I want to break people of this habit that they can get whatever they want if they ask for it. If you dont need it, you dont get it.

And as we speak hes already admitted that it is in fact the joke ppt he wants to open, and now he knows if he wants powerpoint, he will have to speak to the vice president (who I answer to) for approval, and tell him why he wants it.

He wont.

[Reverend Jim]

Our problem wasn't that the users were requesting unnecessary software and upgrades. Outside agencies would upgrade to newer versions of programs like Word, Excel and Visio and we would be unable to open the files without the appropriate upgrades. For that we had no choice but to upgrade. Our biggest problem was users installing unauthorized software. We would uninstall and the software would reappear. Then I got creative. I wrote a zapper which would flip a byte in the exe so that the user would get "This is not a Windows application" on running the program. I had a list of authorized programs. Anything that wasn't on that list got zapped at regular and frequent intervals. The users couldn't complain about problems with software they weren't supposed to have and I never had to remove the software.

For reasons which I will not go into here, this certain class of users were required to have administrative access to their computers. It's partly political and partly technical.

[jwenting]

For reasons which I will not go into here, this certain class of users were required to have administrative access to their computers. It's partly political and partly technical.

which means they were either managers (who get it for political reasons) or developers (who NEED it (and the ability to install and run software without your approval) for technical reasons).
If managers, you did right.
If developers, you hurt your company massively for your personal glory.

[Narue]

which means they were either managers [...] or developers [...]

That's an unwarranted assumption. I've seen quite a few organizations where regular employees who have no business with administrative accounts are local administrators.

[Reverend Jim]

They were system operators who used the computers to control several billion dollars worth of power grid equipment and would not accept the idea that they could not be trusted with admin rights on a $3000 PC. Also, there was a critical app developed by an outside company which required admin rights.

[jwenting]

so you trust them with billions of equipment, but not with a cheap PC?
And you think it's strange they're p*ssed off about that?

Like I said, you're the problem here.