Infinite Exposure by Roland Hughes Read Free Book Online

from this firm even if they fired him on his first day. Of course he wasn't going to get fired
     because his people get paid to leave.
    Stored on a file in his BlackBerry was a cheat sheet he had been using since enrolling in business school. That cheat sheet
     contained all of the knee-jerk things an MBA was supposed to say whenever the topic turned to cutting costs. All new MBA hires
     were always asked to cut costs, so he needed all of the schmoozing phrases at his fingertips. In particular, he needed the
     phrases relevant to IT. Like all MBAs, Kent had taken the one-day course on how to construct a contact manager using Microsoft
     Access, and now held a certificate in IT project management. Every MBA had to do at least one IT project before being given
     a vice president title, and Kent was planning on sailing through his. The less time he spent with these money-grubbing geeks
     the better. They weren't MBAs, so why should they get paid so much.
    First Global Bank, Inc. came into being as a result of the Asian financial crisis. A good many investment firms and banks
     had gotten too greedy playing options and derivatives nobody could understand. Corporate carcasses quickly littered the landscape
     once the bubble burst. A few firms hadn't dipped quite so heavily into the never-ending ocean of greed surrounding the financial
     community. It's not that they did well, just that they had more cash on hand when a competitor's stock prices plunged below
     $5.00/share, and then well below a dollar per share. They were able to snatch up assets at fire-sale prices when the companies
     went under, and those close to avoiding going under were victims of hostile takeover tactics. Kent's brother had gotten him
     this job, but he had to impress the gray hairs with his ability to cut IT costs.
    The simple truth is that Kent could barely find the power switch on his company-issued notebook. He couldn't understand why
     there were any other computer platforms or software packages because his only exposure to computers had been surfing the Web
     and sending email. He had no idea how the VPN (Virtual Private Network) worked when he connected in from home, nor did he
     understand why the company needed it. In short, most 3-year-olds knew more about IT than Kent. On the bright side, not having
     a clue about what was and wasn't needed allowed him to cut everything without any emotion.
    Nine different corporations had been consumed in one way or another during the creation of First Global Bank. Every one of
     them had a completely different computer system handling all of their transactions. The only bright spot of the entire ordeal
     was that the automatic teller machines all went through third-party service firms which had actually created communications
     standards. No matter what ATM you were at in the world, you could check your balance and withdraw cash.
    Kent's predecessor had actually known something about IT. Kent's predecessor wasn't an MBA, so the new board had to replace
     him. This became especially apparent to them when IT costs tripled during the first year of all the mergers. Not one single
     member of the board knew anything about IT, they just wanted it to work and be free. Such is the lot in life for those who
     understand IT. Someone who doesn't understand a thing you do will be the first one to fire you to cover their ass.
    There was a good reason IT costs had tripled during that first year. The board wanted to be able to see all information from
     all units. Every unit had a different computer system with a different set of applications located at different places throughout
     the world. In short, the lemmings walked off a cliff with their eyes firmly fixed on the other side of the gorge.
    One thing the board of directors had failed to consider is that every data center is required to have one backup center. When
     you handle the clearing for stock exchanges, and just about every other financial transaction, you aren't