Welcome to the SAS administrator blog series for 2014!   Back in early 2013, the most popular posts on the SAS Users Groups blog were all about the roles and responsibilites of SAS administrators.  I was reminded of them during a presentation at WUSS 2013 in Las Vegas.  Carey Smoak of Roche Molecular Systems spoke about three major challenges in moving to a multi-tier server platform:

• Validation
• Platform administration
• Training

Each one of these topics deserves our attention, but it was Smoak's personal experiences that caught my eye.  Smoak is an experienced SAS programmer and manager. That makes him a perfect candidate for role of SAS administrator, right?  His knowledge of SAS software was indeed valuable, but administering SAS metadata, monitoring SAS servers and restarting sevices were way out of his usual comfort zone. 

To acquire those needed skills, Smoak took advantage of training and consulting services offered by SAS.  He also attended conferences, networked with experienced SAS administrators and collaborated with his IT department along the way.  His experience helped him appreciate last year's SAS Global Forum panel discussion on what makes a better SAS administrator.

With Smoak's journey in mind, let’s take another look at your thoughts about the roles and responsibilities of SAS administrators:

The SAS administrator: your bridge between the SAS shop and IT

Hiring a SAS administrator? 12 questions to ask  

IT skills or SAS skills--what's more important?  

SAS administrators: Providing maximum benefit    

What makes a GREAT SAS administrator?   

SAS administrator connections and resources

Many thanks to the SAS staff and SAS users who contributed to the SAS administrator series in 2013. They're planning lots of useful new content for you in 2014!