It’s that time of the year again! The time when we shine an appreciative spotlight on system administrators & IT teams who have worked tirelessly to enable the business to go on – networks to keep running, employees to continue working, often remotely, and systems to keep updating. July 30th, known officially as System Administrator Appreciation Day, is the day when we get to say, «thank you» to IT professionals everywhere.
Not All Heroes Wear Capes
System administrators are quiet heroes. The Covid-19 pandemic, especially, has demonstrated that. The crisis tested everyone’s resolve and has led to a greater appreciation of the vital role played by ‘ordinary’ heroes in all walks of life. But today in particular, during SysAdmin Day, we salute those heroes we know as IT pros.
These capeless heroes keep networks protected against cyberattacks. They ensure compliance with legislation. They improve the efficiency of companies, allowing them to streamline operations and save costs. And, increasingly, they respond to the evolving needs of employees, whether they are seeking to work effectively from home, using their own devices, or whether they bring their own devices to work (BYOD).
In short, sysadmins ensure that systems are as up to date as possible and are able to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by modern developments such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). So, to all sysadmins, IT pros & IT departments out there: a well-earned and happy SysAdmin Day!
Celebrating our IT Heroes of 2021
July 30th is also the day we announce the winners of the SysAdmin Day Awards. This year we received a record number of applications from the community, with some really amazing and inspiring stories 🌟. Many nominations came from the healthcare sector, which should not be surprising. Those who did not manage to apply this year, don’t be worried, the contest will return in 2022! Meanwhile, we congratulate the winners of this year’s event who can officially call themselves IT Heroes of the Year 2021.
And the IT Heroes of 2021 are…
The IT Team at Kern Medical
The IT team from Kern Medical found a solution to help their medical team administer vaccines efficiently to underserved communities, including a large number of homeless, uninsured, and undocumented people. Through a mobile link, they provided them with the same connection and technologies used in their hospital so that they could apply the hospital workflow to any location that needed it. A feat worth celebrating.
Chosen Charity: To be decided
Erik Villalobos & Marcin Twardowski from Orbia
Erik Villalobos and Marcin Twardowski from Orbia make for a great combo. Erik sets records for the company with everything he does. In a short period of time, he managed to pull off a variety of critical tasks that made Orbia the future-proof and resilient company it is today, like performing much-needed legacy system upgrades and mitigating important vulnerabilities. Marcin is the IT professional at Orbia who streamlines cybersecurity and other processes using Lansweeper. Thanks to his administration of the Lansweeper tool, Orbia has complete visibility of its IT estate. Both their contributions have had an enormous impact.
Chosen Charity: Together for Latin America and the Caribbean
Team LGIT at La Macchia Group
The IT team from La Macchia Group maintained a running network with zero downtime during the entirety of the pandemic. They ran overtime setting up home networking, upgrading their devices, and following up user issues. They even introduced heat scanners when their office converted to optional part-time. And in the middle of all that, they completed a fourth straight SOC 2 security audit. An impressive accomplishment.
Chosen Charity: Wisconsin Humane Society Milwaukee Campus
Aside from fame and acclaim, the winners receive a charity donation of 1,500 € in their name, a Lansweeper Swag Pack with some goodies, a free Fing Desktop Premium 1-year Subscription, and a special trophy made from sustainable materials.
Congratulations to the winners and their respective charities!