SysAdmin of the Year winner protects and serves

DALLAS -- When working in IT, one never expects the recognition that Matt Timken received Wednesday when he was chosen SysAdmin of the Year out of more than 5,000 nominations.

"It's a unique experience to be recognized for the type of job that I do. We have a tendency to be in the background," says Timken, who works as a data communications specialist for Alaska Department of Public Safety in Anchorage. Timken earned the honor in the second annual SysAdmin of the Year contest, which solicits nominations for deserving IT professionals from their peers and supervisors.

Sponsored by IT search engine vendor Splunk and a slew of industry organizations, including SourceForge.net, NaSPA, LOPSA, Digg and USENIX/SAGE, the contest begins on System Administrator Appreciation Day and wraps up at the Large Installation System Administration (LISA '07) Conference, held this year in Dallas.

As the winner, Timken received an all-expense paid trip to the LISA show and he will leave Dallas with a bit more luggage than he arrived with. The grand prize includes a $5,000 Splunk license, an Apple MacBook Pro laptop and a Gibson Explorer guitar. Three runners-up received an Apple iPhone and 10 honorable mentions will leave the conference with a case of Red Bull.

To be chosen out of so many nominees is an honor, but a bit of an unexpected one, says Timken, who manages 50 Windows servers and more than 20 NetWare machines that support some 850 end users scattered across 70 sites -- including the Alaska State Troopers. Timken says he was surprised to be nominated and even more shocked to learn his daily efforts don't go unnoticed.

"It seems no one notices what we do until it breaks," he says. Yet his supervisor, IT Manager Lance Ahern, noticed and nominated Timken for his dedication to doing the job without a lot of ego. Working to support police troopers and the commissioner could cause a few to get nervous, but Ahern says Timken never breaks a sweat.

"Being part of a law enforcement agency is a difficult and often stressful task to which Matt dedicates long hours. He always handles himself well and takes the time to understand the business requirements and issues at hand," Ahern says. "Above all, he understands how dependent the Alaska law enforcement community is on his skills and is always willing to go the extra mile."

Timken started his career as a computer technician in the Navy and after running a small repair shop, "drifted into network administration." He came on board at the Alaska Department of Public Safety in 1996 and picked up new and interesting responsibilities over time. For instance, he recently received special clearance to work with an FBI division, also in Anchorage.

"The job gives me a unique perspective on what law enforcement does from the state point of view," he reports. And as part of a staff of seven in IT, Timken says he has made himself invaluable to the state.

"It's a job I've grown into, but I have become the corporate memory. People come to me to learn how a system came to be and why it's still here. If someone wants to know why a particular server is running, they know to come to me," Timken says.