Personally, I think IT should run only the servers and network. An individual PC is like an infantryman's rifle. If the infantryman can't take care of his rifle he is screwed. So it should be with laptops and individuals' desktop PCs.
I couldn't agree more. In this 'information age' the core competencies of a 'knowledge worker' must include the ability to keep a pc with essential apps running. I hate the 'let's keep them dumb and helpless' approach of most IT departments. I find it offensive.
That would be nice. Except when the end user fixes something to the point he can't recover, who's he going to call to fix it? IT. When IT deploys new server side software that also requires upgrades to desktop apps, who's going to install them, or troubleshoot a problem with the upgrade? And let's not forget the ogre of software licensing. How on earth can you police that if your end user has the ability to install anything?