Today is System Administrator (SysAdmin) Appreciation Day, a holiday which recognizes the hard work of those who keep IT secure, prevent disasters and put out tech fires.
The role of the SysAdmin is impossible to live without, but often easily overlooked. With this in mind, we spoke to several industry experts to get their views on why SysAdmins remain so important, and how the role is changing for modern businesses.
Carl D’Halluin, CTO, Datadobi
“This year, July 31 marks System Administrator Appreciation Day. It is a day that reminds us that these oftentimes unsung heroes serve as the very backbone of virtually every enterprise IT organization. They are indeed richly deserving of our deep and sincere gratitude. Providing them with tools that help them to minimize firefighting and automate what are important but otherwise mundane tasks is critical. This enables them to rededicate their time to more strategic activities that tie more closely to the bottomline. From keeping the computer systems and apps humming to evading ransomware, it is likely your SysAdmin has not only saved the day, but your business as well.”
Alan Conboy, Office of the CTO, Scale Computing
“It’s great to have a day recognizing all the hard work of SysAdmins, especially after the last few months during the COVID-19 crisis. Consistent, reliable and responsive, SysAdmins have been the backbone of our industry during these challenging times. Without them, we would all be more susceptible to all the usual issues – server failures, downtime and problems with upgrades and capacity – but even in the midst of the crisis, SysAdmins have maintained their teams’ momentum to overcome IT challenges, with a plan of attack for the next time.
They’ve played a vital role in maintaining business resilience, ensuring companies worldwide could quickly and effectively mobilize their workforce to work remotely by keeping platforms like virtual desktop infrastructure running, making it possible to extend the remote capabilities of the workforce in a predictable and easy to manage way, without compromising enterprise security.
Today, we celebrate all SysAdmins with a special offer that acts as a good reminder for organizations to always provide their SysAdmins with the tools, resources and words of encouragement they deserve to continue supporting our IT infrastructures, particularly through times of crisis.”
JG Heithcock, GM, Retrospect, a StorCentric company
“Here at Retrospect, we’ve been working remotely long before the pandemic, so we understand the importance of having dependable and resourceful team members available when we need them most. You can only have a successful remote team deployment with constant communication, which requires reliable, responsive and resourceful team members – three key attributes of SysAdmins.
SysAdmins help to protect and recover data when disaster strikes in the form of ransomware, hardware failure, or other incidents. As we continue to work remotely and consider hybrid working environments in the future, it’s important for organizations to optimize their businesses and provide SysAdmins with the resources needed to seamlessly transition to this new normal by implementing the latest AI technologies to backup engines where possible and consolidate backup management to a single pane of glass. By securing and maintaining backups, SysAdmins will have the tools necessary to streamline workflows with efficient and reliable data backup solutions to keep businesses running and protected across changing working environments.”
Brett Cheloff, VP of ConnectWise Automate, ConnectWise
“System administrators spend a great deal of their time putting out fires. No matter the issue, tackling problems with a reactive approach is much less effective than working proactively. Solving internal or client-based infrastructure issues with a proactive approach allows sys admins to repair IT systems before serious problems develop.
With responsibilities such as proactive network monitoring, conducting routine maintenance, and managing ticket flow and security, sys admins need expert efficiency to get the job done. But as routine pitfalls produce extra work, even the most experienced technicians struggle to keep up with the demands of a modern IT infrastructure.
These processes can be made much easier by using the right software. Sys admins should seek out programs that provide insight into workflows and efficiency as well as facilitate system response monitoring. Doing so will improve overall response time and allow sys admins to reallocate their time to other important tasks. With the right product and processes, they can be more proactive-oriented and better prepared to handle reactive situations,” said Brett Cheloff, vice president, ConnectWise Automate, ConnectWise.
Mihir Shah, CEO, Nexsan, a StorCentric company
“At a time when we are leaning on technology more than ever, SysAdmins are continuing to display their fortitude and resilience. With the initial panic of deploying remote workforces at the start of the pandemic, SysAdmins faced new challenges while continuing to maintain productivity and ensure security. As ransomware becomes increasingly sophisticated during the pandemic, the best way to thank our SysAdmins for their dedication is by enhancing their capabilities with investments in the latest security, data protection and business continuity technologies.
This year, celebrate SysAdmin Day by evaluating proactive measures your organization can implement to help empower your SysAdmins with the technology necessary to protect the business and save money during these uncertain times.”