Please remove Zoom; we don't use it

Today, we got a request from a client to remove Zoom from their computers, which was an opportunity to practice the Five Whys methodology.

If you're unfamiliar with the Five Whys methodology, it "was originally developed by Sakichi Toyoda and was used within the Toyota during the evolution of its manufacturing methodologies. It is a critical component of problem-solving training, delivered as part of the induction into the Toyota Production System. The architect of the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno, described the five whys method as the basis of Toyota's scientific approach by repeating why five times, the nature of the problem as well as its solution becomes clear."

Here, we used the Five Whys to get to the root of the problem in just two whys (technically, two Whys and a What):

Client: Please remove Zoom from our computers.

Qore: Why?

Client: Because we don't use it.

Qore: OK, but why do you want it removed? What harm is it doing?

Client: It's an extra icon cluttering our desktop.

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And there we have it!

I wouldn't say this to our clients, but if you're looking at your desktop icons, you're not working 😀

You might be wondering, "Why don't you just encourage your client to delete the icon?"

When you're looking at your desktop icons, you're looking at the contents of two folders overlaid:

1. Your Desktop folder, which you'll find here: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Desktop. You have full control over the contents of this folder.
2. The computer-global folder, which is here: C:\Users\Public\Desktop. You have no control over the contents of this folder.

If the software that you installed put its desktop icon in your personal desktop folder, you can delete it, but if the software put the desktop icon in the Public desktop folder, you can't delete it, because you don't have access to that folder.

"Why don't you give everyone access to the Public desktop folder?"

We used to, but then someone would delete the desktop icon, the PC would get reassigned to another user, and then the new user would complain that the software wasn't installed, when it was installed, but the desktop icon was missing.

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But we're getting distracted...

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Maybe you were wondering, "Why don't you just uninstall the software? That's what your client requested!"

Well, as we determined above, the client didn't really want it uninstalled, they just didn't want to see the desktop icon. But, nevertheless, the customer is always right, right?

Let's say that we configured our software management platform to uninstall it, which would run every day. Here's what would happen:

1. A VIP would be invited to a Zoom meeting, so they download Zoom, and they attend the meeting.
2. Later that day our software management platform removes it, as the client requested.
3. A few days later, the same VIP is invited to another Zoom meeting.
4. We get a nasty email, "I installed Zoom on my computer just a few days ago and I had to download it, which made me late for my meeting!!"

As of writing this blog post, we aren't pushing Zoom to all of our clients, but now I'm thinking we should! By having Zoom and other commonly used software present, our clients need to search the web for the installer, which might direct them to a fake, malicious site.

And there is the value that a good MSP provides: governance. Governance might sound like we're restricting what's available, and in some ways it is; we're restricting our clients' exposure to malware. But governance also means ensuring that everyone has the tools they need, even if they don't know they need it.