The Super Admin Days initiative was created to improve the knowledge of system administrators, whose merits are little written and rarely spoken about, but also to learn about the solutions that vendors offer through their products through direct communication with sys admins
I nterest among system administrators has been strong every time, as has the attention during the presentation, and what the organisers are particularly pleased about is the interactivity, the discussions that followed each of the presentations. This is why they are already working hard to organise a new event.
How did the Super Admin Days initiative come about? Tell us more about the idea itself.
Super Admin Days is an initiative that arose spontaneously, and the idea was surprisingly well received by both system administrators and vendors.
I came up with the idea after the TOP100CIO meeting organised by Digital Dreams, because I then realised that very little is written and spoken about the heroes from the shadows, as I called the system administrators. They are the ones who make sure that all the lights on the servers are green. The daily challenges that system administrators face are very often impossible missions that they solve with incredible resourcefulness, so that users who log on to the system at 9 a.m. have no idea what the system administrator had to do during the previous night to get all the services enabled for the company’s work by 8:55.
On the other hand, there are vendors who try as well as possible to present their innovations and solutions that should facilitate the daily work of system administrators. We can say that we have enabled a new way, I would say direct communication between system admins and hardware and software manufacturers.
How many events have you held so far?
The first Super Admin Day was held in Vienna at the beginning of June, the second in October in Novi Slankamen, and the third in Mala Remeta in November 2022. Every time we have had an enviable number of participants, system administrators who gathered for education, presentation and demonstration of modern solutions of renowned IT companies.
After the multi-day Super Admin Days event in Vienna at the beginning of June, we decided to add a new format to the gathering of system administrators, that is, super-admins. We realised that it is not enough to gather once a year, since technology undergoes daily changes, to which administrators often have to react promptly.
The daily challenges system administrators face are very often impossible missions that they resolve with incredible resourcefulness
The latest developments in terms of frequent cyber attacks on companies and institutions in Serbia have forced the topic of information security, so the vendors who supported Super Admin Day had the opportunity to present the latest information on how to prevent attacks, but also how save data if an attack occurs. So far Super Admin Days have been supported by Commvault, Wallix, NetApp, VMware, Check Point, Radware, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Allied Telesis, Energy Logserver kao i Ingram Micro i Mondist..
The interest among system administrators has been great every time, as has the attention during the presentation. What we organizers are particularly pleased with is the interactivity, the discussions that have followed each of the presentations.
What impressions do super-admins leave Super Admin Days with?
System administration is becoming increasingly complex as digitalisation gains momentum, and continuous education is necessary. The common impression of all super-admins is that their expectations of the event were fully met. They feel fulfilled because they have acquired new knowledge and acquaintances that will help them to better respond to the challenges of the job ahead of them.