pberry · October 17, 2011 20:28
diff --git a/fire-all-sysadmins.txt b/fire-all-sysadmins.txt
 The definition of "sysadmin" may be a bit murky.  So, some context...at my institution, sysadmins handle system provisioning, patching, security, networking -- real "low level" stuff.  They don't like to touch "apps". These "low level" jobs (minus the security of course!) are the kinds of jobs that are increasingly becoming commoditized by hosted services (or every locally with awesome systems like Puppet).  And that's great!  It gives organizations a choice.

 When you're think about pushing systems outside of your own infrastructure you need to consider more than just the initial deployment.  In fact, you mention that the future is about "managing your own cloud-based solution" and I couldn't agree more.  About the managing part, this is!  Who will maintain the system?  I'm not talking about keeping it running, that's what the cloud service does.  I'm talking about configuration.Who will integrate it with other existing systems?  Who will even figure out if it can be integrated? Who will patch it, if you're only using a hosted VPS? How will you test an upgrade on your VPS?  How will you provision users since you probably can't rely on an local authentication mechanisms (LDAP, Active Directory, etc).  Who will be backing your data up?  Do you really not care about a local backup for disaster recovery?  For some of these questions there are particular cloud services that have answers.  For others, there aren't.  For some questions there will be answers "coming soon".  But, if you're not asking these kinds of questions you're setting yourself up for some pain.

 This is why, for me, the ease of deploying an application is only the tip of the iceberg.  I'm not a sys admin, but I am an application administrator.  I'm sure that at some institutions I would be considered a sysadmin.  So, when you say that "I" (in these roles) am "toast", I'm a bit skeptical.  These are all serious questions and they will not likely be going away.  Some might be commoditized, but others may remain unique to the institution/organization.

 Is "the cloud" right for you or your system?  It, as always, depends...
	The definition of "sysadmin" may be a bit murky. So, some context...at my institution, sysadmins handle system provisioning, patching, security, networking -- real "low level" stuff. They don't like to touch "apps". These "low level" jobs (minus the security of course!) are the kinds of jobs that are increasingly becoming commoditized by hosted services (or every locally with awesome systems like Puppet). And that's great! It gives organizations a choice.

	When you're think about pushing systems outside of your own infrastructure you need to consider more than just the initial deployment. In fact, you mention that the future is about "managing your own cloud-based solution" and I couldn't agree more. About the managing part, this is! Who will maintain the system? I'm not talking about keeping it running, that's what the cloud service does. I'm talking about configuration.Who will integrate it with other existing systems? Who will even figure out if it can be integrated? Who will patch it, if you're only using a hosted VPS? How will you test an upgrade on your VPS? How will you provision users since you probably can't rely on an local authentication mechanisms (LDAP, Active Directory, etc). Who will be backing your data up? Do you really not care about a local backup for disaster recovery? For some of these questions there are particular cloud services that have answers. For others, there aren't. For some questions there will be answers "coming soon". But, if you're not asking these kinds of questions you're setting yourself up for some pain.

	This is why, for me, the ease of deploying an application is only the tip of the iceberg. I'm not a sys admin, but I am an application administrator. I'm sure that at some institutions I would be considered a sysadmin. So, when you say that "I" (in these roles) am "toast", I'm a bit skeptical. These are all serious questions and they will not likely be going away. Some might be commoditized, but others may remain unique to the institution/organization.

	Is "the cloud" right for you or your system? It, as always, depends...