There have been several posts about using perl modules. I fully understand that there are times when it is a pain to get "extra" modules installed. Depending on the situation I might suggest finding another hosting company. I suspect this is not an option for your situation though.

I still really find CPAN to be one of the most compelling reasons to use Perl. I have never worked in a language with so many components at my fingertips. Being able to use HTTP::Proxy and MIME::Entity have saved me hours of development and debugging time. That translates directly into money for my employer.

I really feel that if a system administration department does not have the time to install modules for developers then the sys-admin department is not being given enough resources to provide their service to the parent organization. Or there are other problems such as a lack organization inside the department.

I have been both a sysadmin and a developer. I'm not trying in any way to bash on anybody but sometimes it seems we can forget why we are working where we are. The sysadmins do have the right to protect the systems and keep the systems running and stable. But it is also the primary role of the sysadmins to provide a system that the developers can work in.

I did not start with the intention of ranting but saying "we won't install a module for you to do your job more efficiently" is the same as saying "I know you are my customer and I know you want to buy something to make your life easier/better but I'm not going to sell it to you because it means more work for me". Maybe it's valid and maybe it's not but doing so stresses people all around.