July 29th is National ‘System Administrator’ Appreciation Day

By Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-Chief, MuncieJournal.com—

MUNCIE, IN— Now in its 23rd year, today is System Administrator Appreciation Day in the United States. If your company has one, you probably already know what a System Administrator is. If you don’t here’s a good description from Wikipedia:

A system administrator, or sysadmin, or admin is a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems, especially multi-user computers, such as servers. The system administrator seeks to ensure that the uptime, performance, resources, and security of the computers they manage meet the needs of the users, without exceeding a set budget when doing so.

I have a soft spot in my heart for sysadmins because I used to be one myself.  Over the years I have worked with some awfully talented sysadmin folks, so I can really appreciate their dedication and skill set. Still, in some cases sysadmins can go under appreciated.  The reality is, they are heroic men and women who, come rain or shine, prevent disasters, keep IT secure and put out tech fires left and right.

At Woof Boom Radio, Sean Mattingly, CBNT, Director of Technical Operations is our “SysAdmin.” He is an engineer and takes care of all things radio, but is also tasked with taking care of all company computers.

Sean said, “One of the biggest challenges is bolstering online security for all employees whether they work at home or at the office.  There is a definite for-profit hacker industry supported by foreign governments. They are knocking on the virtual front door of legitimate businesses every day.  They try to steal data and money any way they can.  The bad guys are absolutely stealing hours of time away from IT administrators to keep them at bay.”