What should I prioritize when implementing a new ITSM platform?
I recently moved from a help desk position into a sysadmin role at a new company. We are replacing an old, outdated ticketing system with SysAid, and I…
change management
How should I handle a critical production update without vendor support?
My employer canceled the support contract for a mission-critical production system but still expects me to perform an update. Management says the change is straightforward and that the…
What should we prioritize when implementing a new ITSM platform?
I recently moved from help desk work into a sysadmin role at a new company, and we're preparing to replace a very outdated ITSM system with SysAid. I…
How should I safely update a mission-critical production system without vendor support?
My employer canceled the support contract for a mission-critical production system but still expects me to perform an update. Management says the change is straightforward and that the…
What’s the best way to announce and track internal changes?
Our team currently announces changes inconsistently. Sometimes someone posts in our chat channel, but those messages are easy to read once and forget. We also maintain a wiki,…
What’s the best way to announce and track changes for a team?
Our team currently announces changes inconsistently. Sometimes someone posts in a Teams channel, but those messages are easy to read once and forget. We also have a wiki,…
How do I handle a developer who wants immediate AI-driven changes without proper review?
I recently became the system administrator at a company where I previously worked in operations. I'm tightening security, reviewing access controls, reducing unnecessary global administrator privileges, auditing users…
How do I handle a developer who wants to apply AI-generated changes immediately?
I recently became the systems administrator at a company where I previously worked in operations. I'm introducing stronger security practices, including access reviews, least privilege, Entra policies, device…
What happens when patch automation is scoped incorrectly across multiple clients?
I work at a small managed services provider using an all-in-one RMM platform for monitoring, ticketing, automation, and patching. I created a remote patching policy intended for our…
How can a solo sysadmin control endless CRM and phone-system change requests?
I'm the only sysadmin at my company, and management constantly sends over "quick" requests for custom CRM workflows, unusual phone-system routing, reports, and third-party integrations. Since many of…
Why Did the New Certificate Work in Chrome but Break Older Clients?
A certificate was replaced a few months ago and appeared to work normally in Chrome and the test environment. After the change went live, several older phones and…
How do solo IT admins control endless “quick” customization requests?
I'm the only systems administrator at my company, and I'm drowning in requests for custom CRM workflows, unusual phone-system routing, third-party integrations, and highly specific reports. Every request…
Do I need a formal change request to patch servers with critical vulnerabilities?
My organization is extremely reluctant to patch or reboot Windows servers. We currently patch about once a month, but roughly 60% of our servers are excluded from automatic…
Do Critical Windows Server Patches Require a Change Request?
My organization is extremely cautious about server downtime and reboots. We patch roughly once a month, but about 60% of our servers are excluded from automatic patching, leaving…
How should IT handle an IoT project that bypassed the network and security review?
Operations at our factory purchased and began deploying an IoT energy-monitoring system without involving IT. The project apparently has no agreed plan for device connectivity across the site,…
How should IT handle an IoT project that bypassed network and security planning?
Operations has purchased and started deploying an IoT-based energy monitoring system across a large factory without involving IT. The project apparently has no agreed design for device connectivity,…
How do you streamline change management in a large organization?
I work in a K–12 organization serving roughly 30,000 users. Our change process starts with a ticket that goes to the requester's supervisor. After approval, it is routed…
I Tried to Bundle Too Many Network Changes Into One Weekend
I scheduled a major maintenance window involving a firewall replacement, exposing several services externally, migrating from ISC DHCP to Kea DHCP, and moving three networks to VLANs. I…
New sysadmin inherited an insecure environment and is being blamed for every issue
I recently started as the only IT person at a small company and inherited an environment with very few restrictions or documented security policies. For example, users can…
How to Handle Leadership's Lack of Concern for Cybersecurity?
I'm currently working in the IT department of a K-12 charter school and wanted to share my experience with a recent rollout of a walled garden to control…