Do end users in your company call the service desk wanting assistance with applications unsupported by the company? When your technical support analysts visit user workstations to troubleshoot problems, do they find problems are the result of the installation of unauthorized hardware?

If so, your help desk and tech support staff are spending time fixing problems that could be avoided. When any user in the company can install applications or add new hardware, the results include an undue burden on tech support, security breaches, loss or compromise of data, spread of viruses, and increased use (waste) of precious network bandwidth.

So what can companies do to prevent end users from installing unsupported software or hardware? Simple: implement policies and procedures.

Written policies should be established that define who can install what and who can do what on company computers. Then, wherever possible, put in place operating procedures that prevent users from breaching your written policies. These can include things like monitoring software, group policies, or even making changes to the workstation’s registry to prevent users from doing things they shouldn’t.