Redpill - self-centered ICT
ICT is complex. It is tempting to close your eyes and just leave the trouble to someone else. Simple at first, but expensive and you never really know what you have.
Redpill is different. You are in control of your own digital resources - and save both money and frustrations in the long run.
Redpill in management terms
Redpill is the opposite of outsourcing: As much as possible of your precious data and infrastructure in kept in-house, and the rest uses only simple and generic services to avoid depending on unique features of a single provider.
An "ICT guide" is hired part-time to help setup your resources as self-sustainable as possible, and to train one or more of your own staff to work with the system on a day-to-day basis.
When the setup is completed, smaller tasks like restarting services or adding/changing user accounts can be done by the "superusers" among your staff. Beyond that, your network can in principle run on its own, although typically your ICT guide stays in the loop as a technical advisor, continuously checking security and optimize/improve/extend services.
You keep your ICT guide only for as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial: Your data, services and know-how stays with you. Your system keeps running, it just slowly becomes "oldfashioned". And you can take in another ICT guide - behind the scenes all code is standard Debian GNU/Linux structures with a large userbase worldwide.
Redpill in technical terms
Server hardware: Noname x86 machines, software RAID and all user data mirrored through Internet to separate host
Server software: Debian GNU/Linux - postfix, apache, amavis, dovecot, etc.
Machines for creative use: Apple Macintosh
Machines for classical paperwork use: Debian GNU/Linux or Microsoft Windows.
Redpill in an alien environment
It is possible to share locations with an organisation not using (and not interested in) the Redpill concept. You usually do not need to adopt to a strict foreign policy:
You need from the ICT staff of your host organisation...:
- A single static public IP number with port number 22 open inbound, and standard ports open outbound (or ideally fully open)
- Space for a single standard-sized computer (or preferrably 2)
