I'm working for a new company - a startup and I need some advice on where and how to formulate policy for the IT department. Users are abusing every resource that we have - from laptops to email.

Also, this company is short on $$$$ so I don't have the infrastructure for a reliable backup system. I'm the only fella in IT and my needs are often overlooked. Any advice or tips will be appreciated.

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You need to talk to your boss or the ceo or cfo of that company. Explain to him or her what the problem is and how it will affect the company and the business flow. Abuse on email is very bad and eventually your system will get so congested that it will crash and not relay anymore mail. That can be expensive very.
You need to document everything and formulate a plan ASAP.
If you have no backup in your LAN or WAN, you shall be doomed. Again talk to your boss and workout a relaible backup system server wise and portable backup for your corporate data and info.
You can also place filters on the email system and allow only X amount of info to go outbound and also filter inbound traffic. Best thing to do is also to keep the media files to a minimum. media files are huge and will create a bottleneck fast if your bandwidth is low and the server's HDD is almost out of space.

Laptop abuse needs to be stopped, soon they will not function properly and will be infected = more work for you.

If They are not taking you seriously, then maybe you should look elsewhere.

I have been through that road before and i had to handle a 500 inhouse lan/wan and iwas the only admin= 1 to 500 people.



Goodluck!

__________________
Let The Games Begin!

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You don't state the kind of network you have, but if you're running a Microsoft Win2K Server, I've found that the backup utility works ok in a pinch. I use Veritas now, but my boss didn't want to spend the money on Backups, anti-virus, etc. until it was too late. I understand exactly how you feel. I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but I thought that this info might help out. Good Luck!

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I feel your pain. To get the CEO/CFO/whomever listening you are probably going to have to cough up some financial scenarios. For example, loss of data -- you can bet they have calculated the loss of equipment -- or the cost of removing a virus from your entire email system in labor hours and loss of data. Security issues are another one that may get their attention.

Surfing the net, I found some good examples of acceptable use policies:
http://www.vt.edu/admin/policies/acceptuseguide.html
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/evp/polpr/I/1-100-025.html
http://www.engineering.ucsb.edu/~ec...age.policy.html
http://www.yale.edu/policy/itaup.html

When you get your policy done (and ok'd by your boss if necessary), take to HR (who may take it to the lawyers) and try to make it mandatory for everyone to sign and is included in future editions of the employee manual. That way when some is caught abusing equipment priviledges, the company has some recourse to discipline them.

Get your ducks in a row and be ready with all the arguments, then ask your CFO/CEO/etc. for a few minutes to discuss these issues.

If all else fails, you're going to have to use back door tricks to slow the tide. Limit mailbox sizes, limit maximum file sizes, institute a thorough asset track and inventory system (which you should do anyway), etc.

Good luck. It's a never-ending struggle, but there are some things you can do to help.

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Wow, you've got a challenge, to say the least!

Depending on what you've got, you can use the policies provided in win2k server to lock people down in certain areas. But first, you need the support of your uppers. As stated already, document as much as you can, present everything to your supervisors and explain (with proof) the perils of the current system, and try to get them to see the dangers. If they still won't, document the meeting. Cause we all know that when things go wrong, WE'RE the ones that catch it!

Without the support of your supervisors, you will have a hard time implementing or changing current procedures.

Good luck!!

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Thanks alot for all of your suggestions. I will keep you updated on how it goes.

PS Nicole, those links really helped!

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