Please blog more so we don’t have to learn…

Is it just me or has the age of RTFM, labs and testing passed away? This is perhaps one of the areas myself and another very well respected leader in the SMB IT space (not Susan) disagree the most – I feel that feeding morons little bite sized portions of clue is actually a disservice to them, to their customers and everyone unfortunately impacted by the fool who has only gotten his skills to being able to lie about their competence enough to sell themselves in a situation where they will irreparably destroy someone’s IT infrastructure.

But then I look at the types of conversations I have throughout the day and I just shake my head in shame:

Vlad Mazek:
yes? 
____:
So how do we roll out Exchange 2007 on Windows 2008?
Vlad Mazek:
We don’t, it’s not supported. Need SP1.
____:
We don’t have media for that, where do I get it?
Vlad Mazek:
Free from microsoft.com/exchange
____:
They only have evals.
Vlad Mazek:
Download standalone SP1, not eval. Our SPLA key will work on it.
____:
Ok, fails right away. I have all the pre req’s out the way.
Vlad Mazek:
Doubt that, even RSAT? via servermanagercmd?
____:
What?
Vlad Mazek:
servermanagercmd -i RSAT-ADDS
____:
Thanks!
____:
Ok, now it’s saying Service “MSExchangeTransport” failed to reach status “Running” on this server.
Vlad Mazek:
Networking… forgot enable IPv6?
____:
This is starting to reflect poorly on me 🙂
Vlad Mazek:
In so many ways 🙂
____:
You need to blog more of this stuff!!!

Now, granted, I don’t expect anyone to be able to recall these details about deployment, requirements or gotchas on demand. I just happen to be a UC freak. But for the love of god, if this is your job strap yourself into the damn chair and start friggin reading. Exchange 2007 is about the simplest rollout/configuration experience it has ever been in the entire history of the product, the documentation is the best it’s ever been.. and if you can’t use Google to connect the dots then it’s time to look for a new career.

I can respect that this may be a little too tough to swallow for people in the SMB IT field, fine enough you just want to be a technology business consultant. Well, kiss that six figure salary goodbye because “business consulting” in my book is what CDW phone reps do and thats worth $35K a year plus commissions.

I can also respect people who want a broad technology focus and don’t want to mess with the intricate details of a particular solution. That is fine too, prepare to cut a check to Microsoft when you hit a wall and prepare to sit with a bucket of Indians until they rescue you for $250.

But what I can’t respect is trying to sit on multiple chairs all while blaming others for your inability to do the work you are hired to do. It’s not Microsoft’s fault that you can’t keep up with the product you’re supporting, it’s not Microsoft’s fault you aren’t reading the documentation, it’s not Microsoft’s fault that the pile of idiots at the gate has climbed through the sky so they have to convert third world countries into script readers for technically challenged, it’s not Microsoft’s fault that the software doesn’t autoprovision itself while you sit back and munch on a hot pocket.

At some point you have to come to terms with the fact that while this stuff appears to be easy on the surface, the reason you aren’t working for Geek Squad is that you’re expected to actually understand the technology and capable of fixing it. If you just want to bitch, point fingers, blame PSS, blame docs and blame Vladville perhaps you need to get used to wearing a white shirt with a skinny black tie because GeekSquad is about the only place you’re qualified for.

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On a side note, this is indicative of the greater SMB segment and the reason it’s ultimately going to be decimated by Microsoft and Dell. Guys whose job it is to make sure these solutions run smoothly go to their customers and tell them its all someone elses fault, then tell Microsoft to fix it. Microsoft fixes it, Dell pushes it, people put process and marketing on the table for the customer and then everyone bitches again about how they are being competed with and run out of business.

What did you expect them to do, fix it all and hide it so you can do nothing while raising your fees because you’re on advisory councils explaining to the companies how to faster obsolete you?  

Come on! Grow some balls and take some pride in what you do.