With SysAdmin Day around the corner, we want to dedicate this article to the invisible IT workforce in every company. Not enough people know about System Administrator Appreciation Day, so we bundled 5 reasons why SysAdmins and IT pros deserve more appreciation, and not only on the last SysAdmin Day.
1. They Have to Deal With Users
If there’s one thing that IT Pros have to deal with, it’s problematic users. There will always be that one user – or five – who stops you in the hallway. “I can’t print”, “Can you reset my password?”, «We have a new team member starting Monday morning» or “I spilled coffee on my laptop” are all part the SysAdmin’s daily torture. But it doesn’t end here. After an entire day of fixing issues, they can go home… to fix more computer problems.
It’s hard for SysAdmins to save the day for everyone at the same time. As a user, the issue you experience is as urgent as the next person’s. The flood of tickets, emails, and calls when something needs an urgent fix can be overwhelming. A quick heads up: they have other tasks on their plate.
2. They Keep the Business Going
System Admins ensure that your email, calendar, and all other business applications work. They deploy new software and update existing applications, check for security breaches and poor data management, and monitor network performance. If they see suspicious activity on the network or computer, they react and isolate it. The network admin’s quick actions help us keep the network safe.
Every division expects its computer system to function accordingly, but hardly anyone recognizes the important work that goes into making sure everything works.
3. They Are Always On Call
A complex network requires time and undivided attention. That’s something that your SysAdmin might not always be able to do. With hundreds of users and devices to take care of, admins already have a ton of responsibilities. Most system administrators are always on-call since they have a network infrastructure that needs to run 24/7. Getting paged or called at 3 a.m. in the morning when a server goes down, it’s all part of the job.
IT pros strive to be proactive and plan, but they must also respond to urgent day-to-day challenges. Keeping everything running takes up time. Time they cannot be spent on more fundamental things. Instead, they rush all over the place, putting out wildfires.
4. They Don’t Get Enough Appreciation
SysAdmins are like the puppet masters who stay behind the curtain, pull all the strings, and make things work. Employees encounter issues and get them resolved, but they rarely get to see the people behind all the hard work.
If they do their job in an efficient way, no problems will arise, and people wouldn’t even realize that there’s a person back there, fighting off the threats. The lack of recognition decreases the level of job appreciation and satisfaction that SysAdmins have.
5. They Enabled Work from Home
When it rains, it pours. COVID-19 & the sudden shift to remote work has been, without a doubt, the biggest challenge so far in 2020 from an IT perspective. In a very short period of time, IT teams were able to set up a remote architecture that enabled all employees to work from home. They worked through lunches and stayed late to keep their colleagues connected. All that delivered with a smile.
Celebrating the Heroes of IT
We’re celebrating the Heroes of IT. Join by voting for your favorite IT Hero of 2021.
Vote NowIt’s time to show your appreciation on SysAdmin day, July 31st. Buy your SysAdmin some donuts, a couple of beers, or just say thanks. Don’t forget to nominate your IT Pro for the 2020 SysAdmin Day Awards!