Watch out for those dumb IT mistakes

Every IT professional has had "a most embarrassing moment." Don't deny it, just accept it and try to do better. While many in the IT management world would rather spend time complaining about the dumb things that users do, it's also time to 'fess up and admit that from time to time, you do some dumb things too.

This week we report on an article in TechRepublic.com that contains a laundry list of things the pros do that qualify as, well, mistakes. For example, how about the day you forgot to back up your organization's important data, or the tape system breaks, or worse, you have a catastrophic data loss that forces you to use your backup system. Yikes!

Perhaps you take your time about installing critical updates and, darn, the system is hacked or a major virus or worm infestation makes its way into your system. Or maybe some systems are experiencing glitches every now and then, and you think it must be nothing, when in fact it could be SOMETHING.

So don't put off those bothersome and tedious, but often important tasks, and watch for the small but significant warning signs of trouble. If you don't, you may find yourself with a catastrophe and the only person to blame is you. - Judi