How to Build IT Infrastructure from Scratch as a New SysAdmin?

Can you provide a bit more detail about your organization? What kind of business are you in, and what’s your user base? Knowing that you have around 300 to 350 users and work with a range of financial institutions suggests a need for reliable infrastructure. If the budget allows, you might want to consider moving towards cloud solutions, as they're often more flexible and scalable for these types of operations.

To kick things off, get a solid understanding of what you currently have in place. Document every piece of your physical infrastructure before diving into building anything new. You wouldn’t want to start constructing a mansion without knowing the layout of your land, right?

When considering virtualization, my suggestion would be to start with Hyper-V since it’s generally more user-friendly. Be cautious with solutions like OpenStack unless you’re very experienced since it can be quite complex. Also, remember the rule: 'two is one, and one is none'—you want to plan for redundancy. Consider following the 3-2-1 backup strategy—maintaining at least three copies of your data in two different formats, with one copy stored offsite (cloud works too). After you've set the foundational pieces, collaborate with your business team to determine specific needs moving forward.

It's crucial to set realistic expectations with your company from the get-go. If you want to build a robust infrastructure, you might need to invest in services like Azure and E5 licenses, which can be costly. But remember, paying for solid infrastructure can save money in the long run compared to hiring extra staff to manage issues that arise from a weak system.