A new year always brings the hope of new possibilities, new technologies, and new challenges. I'm not sure that new challenges are what system administrators want to look forward to, but you know they're there and they're coming whether you like it or not. Challenges, in one way or another, are what you do. You face challenges and you resolve them. I remember quite well when Windows XP (XP) hit my clients' desktops and I was thinking, "Well, I guess I can get out of the computer business because XP won't have all the issues of its predecessors." It seemed like the perfect operating system – the best since OS/2.

I was wrong, of course, because I wasn't a regular user. Regular users work with many different applications and with the inherent bugs, user error, and usual problems associated with any desktop conglomeration. I was still in business facing the challenges that XP presented to my clients. XP was good, but it wasn't perfect, and once my client base latched onto XP, they didn't want to let it go. Thank you, Microsoft.

I no longer support desktop operating systems. My focus has long since shifted to the data center and then to the cloud. It's been more than 15 years since I labored in the trenches of desktop support, which is the front line of the IT world. I still interface with clients daily, but the stress of having someone watch me troubleshoot while telling me they "haven't changed anything" is something I don't miss. I'll leave that realm to the younger, more patient souls among us.

These days I'd rather deal with the cold blinking cursor that has nothing to say. Working remotely, I can express my frustrations out loud without the fear of someone reacting badly to my bad reactions. Yes, I still get upset when I realize that spelling counts and that computers don't listen well to verbal commands (yet). Support, in any location or setting, is frustrating – even when dealing only with that blinking cursor. Alas, I digress.

The challenges you will face in 2025 are different from those you've faced previously. Now, you must face not only the challenge of management calling for more automation, but also the move toward artificial intelligence (AI) guiding that automation. Admittedly, AI is cool for some things (creating funny pictures, making short but off-the-wall film clips, and writing stories), but after a few minutes, the non-artificial reality sets in.

I can foresee systems rebooting randomly; patching events going wrong, with multiple systems never recovering; and user accounts (e.g., administrator and root) being locked out so that no human intervention or mitigation is possible. Maybe I'm paranoid. OK, yes, I'm definitely paranoid, but my paranoia is justifiable because no matter how good one believes a system or process is, something will always go awry. When it does, your users better hope they have some experienced system administrators around to fix the issues and return everything to normal.

Automation and AI aren't the only challenges moving forward. You still have users, operating systems, hardware, Internet outages, updates, upgrades, maintenance, vendor support, and human shortcomings to endure. You will always have challenges to face. They might change over time, but what remains the same is your approach to the challenges you meet.

From experience, I can tell you that difficulties are far less daunting if you have a good attitude. It's true. A calm, systematic process is what you need to achieve success. It is the non-emotional approach to problem-solving that makes automation and AI so attractive to those who hear nothing but complaints from users and IT staff. Who wouldn't want to use a robot or virtual system administrator? Very few users ever come away from a conversation with an IT person feeling better than before. However, submitting a question to a chatbot that will solve your problem without a negative response, sigh, or eyeroll is a breath of fresh air. Keep these things in mind as you move forward.

Ken Hess * ADMIN Senior Editor