The untold heroes of technology
Your network is secure, your computer is up and running, and your printer is jam-free. Why? Because you’ve got an awesome sysadmin (or maybe a whole IT department) keeping your business up and running. So say IT loud; say IT proud …
So what the heck is a SysAdmin?
System Administrator, IT pros, The “IT guy” or “IT gal”, Techies… They go by a lot of names, but they all pretty much share a common goal: Be the fantastic fixers of all things tech.
Sure, we’re the people you call when get a computer virus. We’re the people you call when your printer runs out of Toner, or stops printing. And yes, we’re the people you call when your Google is gone.
But, did you know we are also the gate keepers of all your data? We have more access to your companies resources than the owner/shareholders ever will. This means we are entrusted with the most responsibility any user will ever have.
- Unpacked the server for this website from its box, installed an operating system, patched it for security, made sure the power and AC were working in the server room, monitored it for stability, set up the software, and kept backups in case anything went wrong.
- Installed the routers, laid the cables, configured the networks, set up the firewalls, and watched and guided the traffic for each hop of the network that runs over copper, fiber optic glass, and even the air itself to bring the Internet to your computer.
- When your network connection is safe, secure, open, and working, you can thank your SysAdmin.
- A SysAdmin worries about spam, viruses, malware, spyware, as well as power outages, fires and floods.
- When the email server goes down at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, your SysAdmin is paged, wakes up, and goes to work.
- A sysadmin is a pro who plans, worries, hacks, fixes, pushes, advocates, protects and creates good computer networks. Why? To get you your data, help you do your work, and bring the potential of computing ever closer to reality.
Ted Kekatos was the first person to give the idea of system admin appreciation day. Ted Kekatos got inspiration for this day from an advertisement on Hewlett-Packard magazine.
The advertisement showcased a system admin being greeted by his colleagues with flowers and a basket full of gifts. The system admin was greeted because he had installed new printers. This idea inspired Ted Kekatos to celebrate system administrator day.
His idea of sys admin day was later endorsed and promoted by different professional IT firms. The league of professional system administrators also supported this idea.
The tech community observed the first system admin day on 28th July 2000. The community of technology celebrates the last Friday of July every year as a system admin day.
Observing system admin day is an honest way to thank and pay respect to the person who manages the system and servers. It’s a day to say thank you to the person who is responsible for:
- Managing computers
- Updating system
- Configuring Software
- System configure
- Security of the servers
- Maintains and creates a network structure
- System admin resolves the issues and bugs.
- Troubleshoots the system
- Performing audits of his system
In short, the system administrator is the person who works all year round. Even on holidays he’s available on call and works remotely. So, it’s a day to say thank you and appreciate the efforts and hard work of system admin.
