Life in the world of IT can have its rewards, but at times it can be a hellish experience. From software lock-in to corporate misjudgment to fraud, the possibilities for misery are seemingly endless. Comparing the environment to Dante's Inferno, InfoWorld's Dan Tynan tours the nine circles of Hell that the typical IT pro must endure. But don't despair. He also offers ideas on how to escape.

The first circle of IT Hell is Limbo, in which IT pros can find themselves stuck with vendors and products that are not useful or find themselves abandoned by developers in mid-project, Tynan writes. The way out of this mess is to have sufficient in-house expertise to avoid over-dependency on vendors.

The second circle is IT Lust, and it isn't easy to break free from this one, Tynan writes. There are always managers looking to try out the latest shiny gadgets and developers forging ahead with the newest tools before they really understand them. One way to fight this force is by convincing people to make the best use of the tools they have.

In the third circle--Stakeholder Gluttony--one encounters "demons from sales and marketing, finance, and administration," Tynan warns. Users always want to add one more thing to their requests, and by the time a project is completed, the budget, timeframe and specs don't even resemble the original plan. To escape this particular misery, IT pros have to learn how to wield "the magic mirror of painful truth," suggests Dermot Williams, managing director of IT security firm Threatscape.

Descending further into the inferno, one lands in the circle of Corporate Greed. This is where IT pros have to confront individuals who are looking for financial gain at the expense of customer needs. Companies want to be able to show Wall Street revenue as soon as they can, so IT architects frequently find themselves hurried and harried. It is a tricky force to resist, but dedication to the customer and a little political wherewithal can go a long way.

For more:
- see Dan Tynan's article at InfoWorld

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