Welcome back to Tech Service Today's IT Disaster of the Week series where we USUALLY post the ugliest IT environment our technicians run into each week. But this week is an exception because our featured photo was take in Iraq back in 2004.

This week's featured photo is obviously not of a TST customer site, but came from a former member of the US Army who recently become a fan of TST's IT Disaster of the Week blogs. While stationed in Iraq in 2004, he took this photo of what I will reluctantly call a cross-connect cabinet that he told me was wired by a group of "Polish coalition IT guys and US Army communications personnel."

While this is similar to many of the indoor IT Disasters we've featured in this series in the past, I refrain from being too critical of this cabling catastrophe for two reasons. The first is because these IT professionals performed this work in an extremely hostile environment - using the most literal sense of that word. The second is because of how quickly this installation had to be performed. In any battlefield, it is imperative that communications are established quickly. So the sense of urgency under which military IT personnel must work is greater than in any other organization because even the smallest delay can mean the difference between life or death.

So why would TST feature this photo when it is so far outside the realm of normal conditions surrounding most commercial IT professionals? We did so because the cause of this military IT field disaster and nearly every customer IT disaster we've exposed in the past are the same:

Haste is among the leading causes of IT disasters.

If you think you are saving time by performing moves/adds/changes in your rack as quickly as possible, consider the long-term impact of sloppy work. As cabling gets more tangled and congested around and in front of IT equipment, it can actually turn some of the simplest network modifications into confusing, time-consuming chores. By taking time to do things right the first time, you are saving yourself headaches and rework in the future.

Fortunately it is never too late to restore order to any chaotic IT environment. If you don't have the time or patience, rely on Tech Service Today's Cabling Cleanup Services.

Check back every Friday for TST's latest IT Disaster of the Week photo

which represent one of the thousands of customer sites our technicians visit every year as they install and service IT, networking, and telecom equipment & cabling for our clients.

Click here to see last week's IT Disaster photo.

Do you already have an IT disaster that needs to be cleaned up?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install a network. But to ensure that your equipment, racks and cabling are installed properly in an organized, efficient fashion, it does require the talents of a skilled IT technician. If you need help installing or cleaning up your network, contact Tech Service Today to have a skilled, seasoned Technician dispatched to your site.

Need help installing, troubleshooting, testing, documenting, or replacing your network cabling?  Call Tech Service Today for on-site technical services anywhere in North America - often in 4-hours or less.

Just call (800) 973-2022 (option 1), or Email us at Service@TechServiceToday.com