If the programmers in your organization squabble with the infrastructure pros and the system administrators skirmish with just about everyone, you've got a fairly typical IT group, writes Dan Tynan at InfoWorld. Tynan reports on some of the most commonplace turf battles in IT and how the tensions can be turned into a productive force.

One classic conflict within IT departments pits the operations pros against the developers, Tynan writes. While the operations group concentrates on keeping systems running and costs in check, the development team wants to pursue big ideas for innovation. Breaking down the walls between IT groups and teaching them to work with the organization's overall goals in mind can make all sides more productive.

"[Both sides have to operate more intelligently," advises  Steve Shalita, vice president of marketing at NetScout Systems. "Developers need to engineer applications to operate more efficiently in their environments, and they need real-time data from operations to tune their apps to work better."

Another typical battle occurs between system administrators: "For every few thousand hardworking, conscientious system administrators, there's one who will abuse his awesome powers. That's why one of the biggest battles within IT departments is between the good admins and the evil ones," Tynan writes.

To reduce the tension within system administration, companies can make sure several people are involved in all major decisions so that no single individual has too much power. 

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

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