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There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture;... Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made The tender-person 'd [user] melt into a shade. (JOHN KEATS, FROM PART II OF "LAMIA", 1820)
Unweaving the Rainbow: ZERO A D M I N I S T R A T I O N
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he networked PC may be a Pandora's box that can inefficiently consume our time, energy, and money; many experts are becoming concerned about loss of productivity for end users. Why? In some cases, complex combinations of user-selected software components may lead to "fatal exception faults", which leave the scientist and the help desk bewildered. Some programs entertain and delight but are not productive. In addition, regulated industries are concerned about computer practices that can lead to FDA-483 citations—the discrepancies a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspector may note during a site visit. And the administrative trend toward calculating the "total cost of ownership" (TCO)—that is, the cost of running hardware and software, taking into account support, training, down time, and so on (see http://www.anzer.com/tco.htm)—is infecting those laboratories interested in enterprise resource planning. The cure for all of these ills may be found in new system software tools that can lead to "zero administration" scenarios, which increase efficiency and reduce cost and complexity. Most lab workers fall into two categories—a user who runs a single line application (TaskStation) or one who runs a set of well-defined applications (AppStation). In
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the TaskStation mode, zero administration means that the normal graphic user interface (GUI), such as Windows, is completely hidden from the user. Only limited access to the local file system is permitted. For example, no deletions or reads may be allowed because of certification and/or validation requirements. At log-on, the task-specific application is automatically launched. The server administrator can centrally control the characteristics and version number of that task. In AppStation mode, a simplified GUI is presented, providing a common motif that extends across the enterprise, lowering the training curve. A start menu and task bar may be the only items present. The programs that can be run are controlled from a central administrative point. Such austere and draconian solutions may quite possibly lead to rebellion in the permissive society of today's Internet warriors. Most of us view our networked computer as an extension of our personality and the last bastion of freedom. For some clients, zero administration is equivalent to Big Brother watching and controlling their actions. Visions of Orwell's Revenge (1) swirl in their minds. But limiting users' access is designed to solve problems that are all too familiar. How much time have you lost by collisions between supposedly compatible programs? Have you ever gotten lost trying to find the right control-panel settings? Has a downloaded program created a hard-disk directory problem? Have you contaminated your
word-processing and spreadsheet programs lately with a fatal virus and then spread it throughout the lab? Solutions If you don't know where you are going, you'll never get there! The first steps are understanding your problem, focusing on the minimum set of privileges that will satisfy a user's needs, and creating a set of clearly articulated and agreed-upon user profiles. It's helpful to begin by standardizing file directory structures, selecting a common and reduced set of desktop interface layouts, automating the installations of new systems, and centralizing software updates. Microsoft has a heavy presence in this area with its Zero Administration Kits (ZAK) for Windows 95 and 98 (http:// www.windows.com/windows/zak/ zakw95reqs.htm, http://www.microsoft. com/windows/zak/zakw98reqs.htm). Their Systems Management Server (http:// www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt/) provides detailed technical information on client installation and inventory, software distribution, remote troubleshooting, upgrading, and year 2000 compliance. It is scalable to wide-area network installations Zero Administration for Windows (ZAW) will appear as a built-in feature of Windows 2000 (http7/www microsoft com/windows/zaw) UniPress Software has its own solution, S to Infinity. This package can, at the workstation level, control access to system directories and limit execution to designated
The best computer technologies will always add unnecessary costs to a poorly managed firm. -PAUL STRASSMANN applications. It can restrict the MS-DOS command set (inhibit commands such as format, copy, date, and delete)) ;nvoke readonly status for specified files; limit access to folders and directories; block execution from local floppy or CD-ROM disks; and provide activity logging (http://www. unipress.com). Another UniPress package, BGuard, blocks users from accessing files and local drives via browsers, and blocks users from entering URLs and from copying text and images. It also can disable toolbar buttons and right-mouse-click functions Yet another package SWOP! logs printer usao"e prevents requests to print multiple copies and automatically cancels excessively large print jobs Blue Ocean Software's Track-W offers related services flitto'//www blueocean com/default asp)
Other vendors' products look beyond the user-related areas to network problems. Hewlett-Packard offers OpenView (http:// www.hp.com/openview/profile.html), which allows users to start with basic network management and men gradually expand their capabilities with add-ons. A more pervasive, invasive, and inquiring solution is Computer Associates Inter-
national's Unicenter TNG (http://www. netpartner.ch/Ca/TNG.htm). It allows your communications and network-services personnel to map the three-dimensional architecture of your network, including hardware and software. In computer-libertarian environments, where architecture shifts with the whims of users, this is the equivalent of a Global Positioning System in a wilderness area. TNG is not to be taken lightly. It is expensive and requires a philosophical change in thinking just like Tivoli Management Environment (TME 10) from IBM's Tivoli Systems Division (http'// www redbooks ibm com/abstracts/ sg244948 html) These systems handle the diversity of the real world including platforms such as UNIX OS/? and Windows 2000
These management products allow administrators to query the network for specific processor types, operating system levels, and installed software bases. Application programs can be placed on selected distribution servers, installed on other clients and servers, and reconfigured to meet local needs. The network can be treated as a database, which can be browsed and searched like the Internet. Problems TCO is a concern for both managers and users. How much does a laboratory information management system (LIMS) really cost? What is the overhead associated with a networked PC? (Estimates of $8000 per year are common.)
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Paul Strassmann has been one of the most articulate writers in the area of the "myth of productivity". Some of his papers are on the Web (http://www.protivity. com/papers.html), and his books are worth reading (http://www.strassmann. com/index.shtml; http://www.strassmann. com/pubs/datamation0297/). Others share the opinion that many strategies in information and knowledge management are fueled by improper analyses (http:// www.sagebrushgroup.com/value.htm) Peter de Jager a frequent commentator on technology and change says "The answer to the question 'Do computers increase productivity?' is intimately connected to 'Do your users know how to use their miters'*' and 'Do you know what your users are doinp"?'" (2) In 55% of U.S. firms, the budget for computers exceeds the value they add. Strassmann concludes that "the lack of correlation of spending on information technology with financial results [suggests] that it is not computers that make the difference, but what people do with them" (3). In an interview with the French newspaper, La Tribune, Strassmann summarizes, "Computers are not themselves creators of value, they are only metal, plastic and glass. Only well-organized and perfectly motivated people create value. There is creation of value each time that a computer helps people to act more intelligently, more quickly and with a larger effectiveness" (4). But users "futzing" (playing) with their computers costs time and money, Strassmann says. Users helping other users with their problems consume more time and money. Some estimates suggest that these hidden costs double the TCO. Why w o r r y ? From 1974 to today, the annual growth in productivity has averaged only about 1.2%. In 1970, the average Fortune 500 company spent about 1% of its gross income on computing. Today, that company spends about 3% of its gross income on computing. Most companies are afraid that if they don't upgrade to the latest software, they'll miss out on an important competitive advantage. However, employers must look at the value of their PC investment and ask whether constant upgrades are necessary.
At what point does the value of standardization outweigh the value of innovation? A typical approach, like Chevron's TCO program, centers around two features: standardization at the desktop and cutbacks in technical staff. Some critics question whether technical staff cuts and "outsourcing" are the correct answers. Others suggest that TCO calculations are perilous—and easy to bias. Mark Minasi, a technology columnist, comments, "[I]s TCO bogus? Not at all. [But] [i]t's high time we stopped blindly buying the latest hardware and software just because Microsoft, Lotus, Sun, or Netscape tells us, 'It's newer, so it must be better—and besides, you'd better buy it because we're going to stop supporting the old version.' It's high time we did some dollars-and-cents examination of what we're getting for our computing dollars. And it's high time OS and applications manufacturers focused not only on the needs of end users and programmers but on the needs of support staff as well" (5) This is what zero administration and TCO are all about—unweaving the rainbow-colored PC—a lamia (6) that is both help and hindrance. For more information on TCO and regulatory concerns, see http://pubs.acs.org/ ac/ for supplementary materials provided by two active consultants in the area. (Comments, e-mail, and forums are invited at http://www.chem.vt.edu/ chem-dept/dessy/internet.)
Thanks to Glen Wollenberg, S2I Consulting, for his many contributions.
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References (1) Huber, P. Orwell's Revenge. Free Press: New York, 1994. (2) de Jager, P. Are computers boosting productivity? March 27,1995, http://www. protivity.com/paper7.html. (3) Strassmann, P. The Squandered Computer. Information Economics Press: New Canaan, CT, 1997; p 36. (4) La Tribune, December r31997, http://www. strassmann.com/pubs/latribune.shtml (translation provided by Strassmann). (5) Minasi, M. Just what is TCO anyway? Windows NT Magazine, July 1998, http://www. winntmag.com/magazine/article. cfm?ArticleID=3565. (6) lamia, n: a wiich, a sorceress, a fabulous monster. From the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.
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