> This sounds like incompetent IT management has been tolerated for too
> long by the state of California, I spent several years working in an
> academic IT environment, so I know how incompetent manager bozos get
> ensconced and allow bullshit to continue for years at a time. It
> became obvious over time why people cling to academic and government
> positions with gritty determination--it's comfy work and you can get
> away with shit that wouldn't fly in the private sector (or as a
> freelancer).
That may be true - but if the state is anything like much of the private sector, the explanation may be that the system continues to run well so there's little justification for a large capital investment to upgrade or migrate.
IT systems supporting a process like Payroll are seen as a baseline commodity, and it is always difficult to get someone to loosen the purse strings for an "unnecessary" upgrade if the existing system continues to function. "Eventually you will want us to do things the old system can't do" rarely works as justification for the upgrade, since the business folks can't possibly imagine that scenario until 2 seconds before they think up the new things....and then they complain that IT isn't flexible. ;-)
The state I live in (PA) runs SAP, and there's actually a 3-way revolving door between the Harrisburg State IT, SAP consultants, and private industry.
Matt
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