Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc. (TCS), a leading developer of cross domain and cyber security solutions, today released findings from its first Systems Administrator survey taken at the annual Large Installation System Administration (LISA) conference last month in Baltimore. The purpose of the survey was to gain perspectives from systems administrators on the challenges, opportunities and trends they face on an ongoing basis. 100 systems administrators were surveyed with 63 percent working for commercial organizations and 37 percent for government agencies. In addition to the survey, the company hosted a roundtable with ten systems administrators to obtain feedback on how they view their roles and responsibilities within an organization.
The LISA conference has become the premier meeting place for systems administrators of all ranks, from novice to veteran, to exchange ideas, sharpen skills, learn new techniques, debate current issues, and mingle with colleagues and friends. Taking advantage of this annual gathering, Trusted Computer Solutions hosted a roundtable discussion over dinner where the first question addressed was regarding their biggest challenges. Lack of resources, long pipeline of projects, users not wanting to conform to policies, interfacing with non-IT management, budget cuts and no formal systems administrator training programs were all identified.
A similar question posed in the survey asked, “In the past 12 months, which of the following has your department experienced most?” 43 percent stated process streamlining followed by 26 percent selecting budget reductions. Focusing on one particularly time consuming process that system administrators face, the next question was “What is the primary method of system hardening you or your organization engage in today?” 66 percent still spend hours, even days, manually locking down to company defined policies or industry standard policies while only 32 percent use automated tools. The other two percent outsourced this activity. While organizations are working to streamline processes, most are still not aware that there are tools that can automate the process of hardening operating systems.
One of the goals of the survey was to better understand what systems administrators have to do on a day-to-day basis. Not surprising, 48 percent noted that they spend most of their day responding to problems while 32 percent said they spend most of their time installing, maintaining and upgrading servers. We also learned that 75 percent of the systems administrators surveyed had some level of information security responsibilities.
Other key findings from the survey include:
To view the full survey results visit: http://www.trustedcs.com/documents/LISA_Survey_Results.pdf
In the roundtable, participants were asked to define the role of a systems administrator, one participant stated “Someone that is capable of providing an end product to the user.” Another noted that systems administration is essentially risk management. The next area discussed centered on how to become a systems administrator and most agreed that it is a position that one learns on the job due to the diverse responsibilities. This lead to the group agreeing that the industry as a whole needs to work closer with higher education to provide specific programs geared toward becoming a systems administrator (beyond the engineering and computer science degrees).
“The results of this survey demonstrate that systems administrators are tasked with a vast amount of responsibility but aren’t always taking advantage of the many automated tools available that can save them time, increase overall security and improve operational efficiencies,” said Sherryl Dorch, Vice President of Marketing for Trusted Computer Solutions. “From the findings, it appears that systems administrators have to address ongoing fire drills, which means for example, that they may not be getting servers consistently locked down. We hope that the findings from our roundtable and survey offer C-level executives with some visibility on how systems administrators perceive their roles and the challenges they face supporting their organizations.”
About Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc.
Founded in 1994, Trusted Computer Solutions (TCS) is an industry leader in providing cross domain and cyber security solutions for both the private and public sectors. The Company’s portfolio of security products include the SecureOffice® Suite, a group of cross domain solutions that allow the secure transfer and sharing of information; Security Blanket™, an industry award-winning operating system lock down and security management tool; and CounterStorm™, a behavioral, statistical and content-based anomaly detection system that rapidly identifies targeted and zero day attacks. All TCS solutions are backed by the company’s Professional Services group, which consists of nationally recognized experts in security policy, architecture, planning, and implementation. TCS is headquartered in Herndon, Va., with offices in Champaign, Ill. and San Antonio, TX. For more information, visit www.TrustedCS.com