5 Things I Learned Being a SMB IT Administrator
28 January 2009
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When I was 13-14 circa 1998 I knew what I wanted to be: an IT guy.
I saw the IT guys that worked for my dad and they had their feet up, downloading music, wearing jeans & t-shirt, browsing Slashdot and finding answers to questions using this website called “Google“. I fell in love with the fact that you could be do all of the above and have the same respect that the office manager that had to wear a tucked in shirt and slacks everyday. Fast forward to 2004 my dream came true. I started my first IT gig at a SMB (Small Medium Size Business) and since I have learned a few things.
- Love Thy Product Vendors. Find a a couple of vendors (Fry’s, CDW, TigerDirect, NewEgg) just in case another doesn’t have what you need. Try to build relationships with your account representative. Don’t be afraid to ask if they can meet or beat a competitors sales price.
- - Open Source & Freeware are not always the best solution. I used to believe that open source and freeware should always be considered first before paying for software. Oh boy was I wrong. The problem with open source/freeware is that there is no one to call if it breaks. Yes there are forums, and Google might have the answer but what if you are out of town? If someone is trying to do something that the program YOU installed isn’t doing guess who will get the call? That is just one example. Untangle, mission critical
- - Download, Install and Use VNC. This primarily applies to businesses that still run Windows 2000 (we do on some older stations). XP and Vista have RDC (remote desktop connection) installed. So many times issues can be resolved by connecting to an end users desktop remotely. VNC will save you so many unnecessary trips to the back of the office saving you and the end user time. While writing this post I used VNC twice!
- - Loosen the Password Policy. This might be a controversial practice but if you are a one man shop and want to keep your sanity you might want to consider it. Assuming you are using Active Directory, by default Microsoft enforces a pretty strict Password Policy. Customize your Password Policy to meet your needs. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in using strong passwords because no company is immune to security breaches. But when end users call you everyday saying that their password expired or they can’t remember the one they made because they couldn’t create the same one as last time your patience will soon run out.
- - Read, Read, Read! If you are not keeping up with what is going on with the IT world you will miss out on so much. I subscribe to Information Week Magazine (Free) and my Google Reader is full of RSS feeds that keep me posted. Also consider getting a Twitter account and Follow IT related people/companies.
To be continued…
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.sysadminday.com/
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