Celebrating our SysAdmins
System Administrator Appreciation Day is upon us! It’s a day of recognition for IT professionals around the world and all the work they do. From helping us solve minor tech glitches to overcoming major IT crises, System Administrators are consistently saving us from our technological woes, providing us top-notch support every step of the way.
We reached out to our own IT Legends across CDW to get their perspective on all things IT and what it’s like to work at CDW. Read on.
Pedro Flores
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I keep critical CDW business systems running optimally 24/7/365.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I maintain CDW's IBM infrastructure systems. These are critical systems that are used by the business all the time.
We go through a lot of analysis when there are issues and try to correct any problems that may affect sales as soon as possible so that customers/coworkers don’t have a bad experience.
We have a great team behind the scenes that makes technology work. A lot of planning and work is done so that technology is seamless for users.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Working with the best technology and digital teams in the industry.
Helping resolve issues and seeing how my team collaborates to get bigger technology projects and company goals achieved.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Be open minded, dynamic, and always be ready to learn new things. Try different roles in technology until you find your passion.
Chris Monroe
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I am a technical lead, responsible for the delivery, health, and performance of Compute Platforms, Active Directory, and Public Key Infrastructure supporting critical business applications.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Designing and overseeing the successful rollout and integration of complex systems over a global footprint is particularly gratifying.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
“Everything is hard until you do it.” Don’t get overwhelmed by the sea of buzzwords and marketing hype. Stand up a home lab, fire up some cloud instances, and start building. Doing it yourself is much more fun than reading news articles about it.
“Be a student of your craft.” There’s always something new to learn today and there will be much more to learn tomorrow. If there is something you don’t know, look it up! Great guitarists don’t stop practicing after they learn a few chords. They push that limit for an epic solo! The same principles apply to technology.
What are the three most common questions you get from coworkers?
Most of my interactions are with other Infrastructure Teams, I would say:
“Do you have a second to jump on a troubleshooting WebEx?”
“Can you help me install a certificate?”
“Can you help me make a change in Linux?
Sean Murphy
Describe what you do in one sentence.
“I work in IT.” More specifically I’m a member of the Enterprise Collaboration team. We look after M365, Collaboration Tools, Identity Services used all across the organization.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
That there’s a lot more to “working in IT” than helping someone figure out why they can’t print. My job specifically encompasses a lot of technologies from different vendors. Primarily though I look after our Single Sign On environment and make it easier for coworkers to get to the tools and services they need without having to remember/write down a bunch of different usernames and passwords.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Accept new challenges, learn from those with more experience, and put in the work. Most folks start in support, or inventory, or something ground level. Don’t scoff at that job even if it’s not your end goal or passion. Use that job to meet people, gain experience, and grow your skills. Soft skills are important! We can teach you the technical processes and systems, but being a helpful, driven leader is all you! If you’re motivated, you’ll get where you want to go.
What are the three most common questions you get from coworkers?
“How do I open a ticket?”
“What’s Single Sign On anyways?”
“Do you have a minute?”
It seems no matter your current roll if you’ve built yourself the reputation of being helpful and approachable – people will find you and trust in you to solve their issues. A good portion of my job is education. Either on how to best solve a problem, implement a system, or engage the right part of the business to get your problem solved.
Daniel Williams
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I help support requests and issues brought to us by CDW coworkers to keep them working as smoothly as possible.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I do feel that some users don’t appreciate that some requests/issues are not a five minute fix, unfortunately.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Being able to fix the issue/complete the request the first time without having to involve another team.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Learn as much as you can and keep learning. IT is always changing and it keeps your troubleshooting skills sharp.
– CDW Coworkers
Named by IDG’s Insider Pro and Computerworld as a 2021 Best Place to Work in IT, CDW is committed to its IT coworkers and recognize their exceptional skills.
Ready to join our technology team? Explore current opportunities today.
System Administrator Appreciation Day is upon us! It’s a day of recognition for IT professionals around the world and all the work they do. From helping us solve minor tech glitches to overcoming major IT crises, System Administrators are consistently saving us from our technological woes, providing us top-notch support every step of the way.
We reached out to our own IT Legends across CDW to get their perspective on all things IT and what it’s like to work at CDW. Read on.
Pedro Flores
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I keep critical CDW business systems running optimally 24/7/365.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I maintain CDW's IBM infrastructure systems. These are critical systems that are used by the business all the time.
We go through a lot of analysis when there are issues and try to correct any problems that may affect sales as soon as possible so that customers/coworkers don’t have a bad experience.
We have a great team behind the scenes that makes technology work. A lot of planning and work is done so that technology is seamless for users.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Working with the best technology and digital teams in the industry.
Helping resolve issues and seeing how my team collaborates to get bigger technology projects and company goals achieved.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Be open minded, dynamic, and always be ready to learn new things. Try different roles in technology until you find your passion.
Chris Monroe
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I am a technical lead, responsible for the delivery, health, and performance of Compute Platforms, Active Directory, and Public Key Infrastructure supporting critical business applications.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Designing and overseeing the successful rollout and integration of complex systems over a global footprint is particularly gratifying.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
“Everything is hard until you do it.” Don’t get overwhelmed by the sea of buzzwords and marketing hype. Stand up a home lab, fire up some cloud instances, and start building. Doing it yourself is much more fun than reading news articles about it.
“Be a student of your craft.” There’s always something new to learn today and there will be much more to learn tomorrow. If there is something you don’t know, look it up! Great guitarists don’t stop practicing after they learn a few chords. They push that limit for an epic solo! The same principles apply to technology.
What are the three most common questions you get from coworkers?
Most of my interactions are with other Infrastructure Teams, I would say:
“Do you have a second to jump on a troubleshooting WebEx?”
“Can you help me install a certificate?”
“Can you help me make a change in Linux?
Sean Murphy
Describe what you do in one sentence.
“I work in IT.” More specifically I’m a member of the Enterprise Collaboration team. We look after M365, Collaboration Tools, Identity Services used all across the organization.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
That there’s a lot more to “working in IT” than helping someone figure out why they can’t print. My job specifically encompasses a lot of technologies from different vendors. Primarily though I look after our Single Sign On environment and make it easier for coworkers to get to the tools and services they need without having to remember/write down a bunch of different usernames and passwords.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Accept new challenges, learn from those with more experience, and put in the work. Most folks start in support, or inventory, or something ground level. Don’t scoff at that job even if it’s not your end goal or passion. Use that job to meet people, gain experience, and grow your skills. Soft skills are important! We can teach you the technical processes and systems, but being a helpful, driven leader is all you! If you’re motivated, you’ll get where you want to go.
What are the three most common questions you get from coworkers?
“How do I open a ticket?”
“What’s Single Sign On anyways?”
“Do you have a minute?”
It seems no matter your current roll if you’ve built yourself the reputation of being helpful and approachable – people will find you and trust in you to solve their issues. A good portion of my job is education. Either on how to best solve a problem, implement a system, or engage the right part of the business to get your problem solved.
Daniel Williams
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I help support requests and issues brought to us by CDW coworkers to keep them working as smoothly as possible.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
I do feel that some users don’t appreciate that some requests/issues are not a five minute fix, unfortunately.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Being able to fix the issue/complete the request the first time without having to involve another team.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in IT?
Learn as much as you can and keep learning. IT is always changing and it keeps your troubleshooting skills sharp.
– CDW Coworkers
