There are just 11 more shopping days until System Administrator Appreciation Day 2022! What is a sysadmin and why should you thank them? System administrators, or just sysadmin for short, are the people who help run all of the massive amounts of infrastructure that keep our world running. When you got hired at your employer, more than likely, a sysadmin had to create your network account, your email address, get your computer ready for you to use on your first day among other things. At NodeSpace, our sysadmins keep the web servers running that serve your websites as well as our backend infrastructure that handles all the other tasks such as when you place an order, an account gets provisioned or our data center team knows to provision which server for you.
Most of the time, it’s a thankless job. A lot of our work is behind the scenes and isn’t typically noticed. And a lot of times, when it is noticed, it’s unfortunately not in a good light – such as when systems go down or error out. So, this July 29th, tell your local sysadmin “thank you” and you can even show it with a small gift. We put together this gift guide as a way to show a token of appreciation.
A free lunch at a nice restaurant
A lot of times, your sysadmin needs to go go go! Tickets are piling up, a server needs troubleshooting, and so our lunch habits aren’t exactly the healthiest. And that’s assuming we can even sit down for lunch! Take your sysadmin out to a nice restaurant of their choice, or even a gift card to one.
A quality laptop bag
We’re on the go a lot and having a nice bag that can hold a lot of tools is just what we need sometimes. We put a lot of wear and tear on our bags. Maybe you’ve noticed your sysadmin’s bag is looking a little beat up.
This one would make a great option as it is water resistant (a great feature for electronics!) and even features a USB port to allow the charging of a cellphone on the go. Or maybe just powering the mobile hot spot. Available on Amazon for $29.92
And for the sysadmin who is on the go between branch offices a lot, a rolling laptop bag (or what I like to call a “portable office”) is also a great choice. Personally, I had one of these back in the day when I had to go between several offices and it really was my portable office – business cards, network cables, tools, power adapters, etc. Available on Amazon for $58.74.
Company Swag
This one doesn’t really cost anything, but if your company has swag usually reserved for the sales staff, consider giving some to your sysadmin. Polos, pens, hats, etc. It’s an easy gift and it can score your company some extra rep points. When sysadmins need to run out to the computer store for an emergency part, it’s away to get your business logo on some more eyes. And it’s also great for if your sysadmin goes to a conference as now even more people will start to learn about your company and what you do. Plus, you can also make your sysadmin feel closer to the rest of the company when they can look like the rest of the company.
A bottle of their favorite booze (or bag of coffee, tea, or other beverage)
There’s a meme that sysadmin folk enjoy drinking alcohol. Some do, some do not. So with this gift, make sure you know your sysadmin! If you know their favorite drink of choice, gift them a nice bottle of it (or bag if it’s a bean or some leaves). Once, I was gifted a bottle of whiskey. I’m not a huge whiskey drinker, but honestly knowing it wasn’t exactly cheap made me appreciate it a little more. The person really went above to acknowledge what I was doing.
And it should go without saying, but our lawyer gave me “that” look so I have to say it: make sure if you do give the gift of booze, they are of legal age and they know your company’s policies regarding alcoholic beverages.
Amazon Gift Card
When you’re just not sure, an Amazon gift card can generally never be the wrong choice!
What gifts would you like as a sysadmin?
If you’re a sysadmin reading this blog, feel free to comment and let us know what gifts you’d love to receive! We’ll add them to our list!
