SysAdminDay" recognition day
Every company has them, and Governikus has a particularly large number of them. You've probably even spoken to them on the phone: system administrators. These are the patient people we call when we've pressed "nothing" and the laptop is once again acting up "all by itself". They save the day when the technology isn't working as it should and always have a solution for every IT problem.
Tomorrow's day of recognition is dedicated to these "silent heroes" of everyday working life. The so-called "SysAdminDay " has been held on the last Friday in July since 2000. This day of remembrance was created by Ted Kekatos, who felt inspired by an HP advertisement. There, a system administrator was thanked with a fruit basket and flowers for installing a printer.
For more visibility of our irreplaceable colleagues, this blog article tells you something about the day-to-day work of a system administrator.
About SysAdmins
There are two characteristics that distinguish SysAdmins in both their professional and private lives: Enthusiasm for technology of all kinds and communication skills. This combination makes them a kind of interpreter between IT devices and their users.
Hardly any other person comes into contact with so many colleagues in the company and in stressful situations where solutions are required quickly. In order to be able to deliver these solutions with confidence, SysAdmins also deal with a wide variety of technical topics outside of their day-to-day work.
The start of the day
Even before the "good morning" coffee, the first thing to look at is monitoring: Are all servers, systems and network components available? Only then is there time to check emails and tickets for messages from systems or users and respond directly if necessary. In addition, SysAdmins are of course expected to react immediately and promptly in the event of an acute problem. This means that a "quiet" morning is not always a given in this job.
Problem solving as a top-class sport?
SysAdmins are central to the success of any company, and not just because they fix minor computer glitches. They serve as a point of contact for a wide range of technical challenges, such as unwanted intrusion into Governikus networks by third parties. They receive many requests every day, which they have to turn into tickets and prioritize according to their urgency. Each request is considered and evaluated individually, depending on the extent to which the ability to work is restricted. Here, it is also important to talk to colleagues so that no one feels left out if a ticket is not processed immediately.
Background tasks
In addition to the topics already mentioned, a:e SysAdmin also takes care of infrastructure maintenance in the background. This includes updating the systems, checking for malware and adapting to new requirements. Sometimes the hardware also needs to be replaced, such as a hard disk in the storage system. This has to be done as quickly as possible and without the users noticing. Meetings, training sessions and courses on technical changes and innovations are also part of the SysAdmins' daily routine. Because as we know, the IT world never stands still.
SysAdmins and the home office
In a modern working world, working from home is now part and parcel of many companies. This presents our SysAdmins with a whole new set of challenges. While colleagues are comfortably working from home, there is always at least one SysAdmin in the office to have access to the hardware in an emergency. They also have to come up with creative solutions to problems that may arise when working from home.
Without system administrators, our day-to-day technical work would be almost impossible to manage. At Governikus, we currently have 11 trained administrators and two student employees on our team. However, we are always happy to receive additional support and are always on the lookout for new colleagues, so please take a look at our careers page. And: even if your first coffee in the morning might have to wait a while - the coffee at Governikus is really good.