Systems Management
Polling Data Confirms the State of System Administration
Matt WielandTopics: Systems Management
System administrators must manage increasingly complex environments. The tech stack continues to evolve rapidly (hello, ChatGPT plug-ins), and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reformed our work environments. To help IT professionals gain insights about their peers and navigate these challenges, Recast Software recently conducted a survey and then published a white paper titled The State of System Administration. In addition to sharing the white paper, Recast Software hosted a webinar to discuss the key findings while also gathering further insights from attendees through interactive polls.
The State of System Administration Webinar Poll Data
Warranty Data Collection
The majority of webinar attendees (37%) reported that their organizations still collect warranty data manually, while 29% rely on an app to do so. Surprisingly, 22% indicated that they do not collect warranty data at all, while 12% selected “other.”
This information aligns with additional insight into warranty data collection within the white paper. There, we captured the number of employee hours used per year to collect warranty data. When overlaid with this webinar poll, we see that a significant majority of companies either spend consequential time collecting warranty data or have thrown in the towel on utilizing this data, potentially (even likely) because of the challenges in collecting it.
Satisfaction with Admin Rights Management
Over half of the webinar attendees (53%) expressed satisfaction with the way their admin rights are currently managed. However, a significant portion (40%) remain dissatisfied, indicating that there is room for improvement here.
The data within the white paper suggests that a significant portion of the webinar poll respondents who selected “satisfied” likely manage admin rights with either LAPS or a local admin account with a generic password. While LAPS is a solid first step, organizations should increase their vigilance with greater admin rights controls. For those using generic passwords with a local admin account, security data and best practice strongly encourages you and your organization to strengthen your protocols to protect against malicious actors.
Third-Party Patching Solutions
The majority of respondents (60.9%) have already implemented a third-party patching solution, while 23.6% are not considering this option at this time. Among those who are planning to adopt a patching solution, 7.3% aim to do so within the next six months, and 8.2% expect to implement one within the next year.
Our internal data, as well as survey data from the white paper, suggests a significant percentage of teams either patch in-house or do not actively manage third-party applications. Read more about application management best practice in our newest eBook Reduce your Attack Footprint.
Top IT Initiatives in 2023
In our webinar poll, “strengthening security posture” emerged as the most critical initiative for 2023, with 66.7% of respondents ranking it among their top three priorities. “Improving compliance numbers” (54.8%) and “moving from a break/fix to a more proactive IT approach” (46.4%) were also identified as essential goals.
The State of System Administration White Paper
To further explore the SysAdmin field’s trends and challenges, download Recast Software’s The State of System Administration white paper. This comprehensive report offers valuable endpoint management data and insights, including:
- System administrators’ job satisfaction and the factors that influence it
- Trends in endpoint management, such as the future of co-managed and pure cloud environments
- The most valuable software titles for IT teams
- Admin rights management across endpoint tiers
- The current state of zero trust implementation and plans for improving security within environments
- And much more
Gain a deeper understanding of the SysAdmin field by downloading the white paper.
Conclusion: Polling Data Confirms the State of System Administration
Understanding the challenges and trends faced by system administrators enables all companies, as well as solutions providers like Recast Software, to make smarter decisions. Recast Software’s webinar poll and white paper data offer insights that can help IT professionals stay ahead of the curve and make informed decisions for their organizations. Download The State of System Administration now to stay better informed in this rapidly changing field.
