Once responsible for managing and optimizing IT systems, the Information Systems (IS) Administrator or now AdminSys has become a key player in the integration of Data Science and data analysis within companies. Find out everything you need to know about this profession and how it's evolving in the age of Big Data!
In the past, the IS administrator’s main responsibility was to ensure the smooth running of IT infrastructures, database management and cybersecurity.
He or she was responsible for maintaining the integrity and availability of systems, notably by monitoring the infrastructure and resolving technical problems. His job also involved applying updates and patches.
However, with the rise in data volumes, companies realized the strategic importance of harnessing these resources to make informed decisions.
Little by little, the role of the information systems administrator has expanded to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities offered by Data Science and has become AdminSys.
How has the role of IS administrator evolved?
Today, this AdminSys must also understand users’ needs in terms of data and analysis. They must be able to collect, store and manage data efficiently and securely, while making it accessible to data scientists.
Working with teams, he or she must understand their needs and ensure that the IT resources required to complete projects are made available. Identifying the right tools and platforms, and supervising the infrastructure are all part of the day-to-day job.
He also plays a key role in defining data management standards and policies within the organization. In particular, he or she is responsible for ensuring that data is of high quality, reliable and compliant with current regulations.
In some cases, he or she may also be responsible for implementing data management solutions such as data warehouses, content management systems (CMS) or governance tools.
The importance of Data Science in information systems
Data Science has become a key area of focus for modern organizations. It offers a powerful means of harnessing data to gain valuable insights and make the best strategic decisions.
Many modern businesses collect and generate massive amounts of data. This information comes from a multitude of different sources, such as business transactions, customer interactions on the web, social networks, or connected sensors and devices.
Thanks to Data Science, this raw data can be converted into actionable information. Integrating this science into information systems offers several major advantages.
First and foremost, this enables decision-makers to base their decisions on facts, rather than intuition or experience as was once the case.
Predictive models and in-depth analyses enable us to identify trends, understand customer behavior and detect hidden patterns and causal relationships.
It’s also a great way to optimize business processes. Analysis helps identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement in day-to-day operations.
For example, it is possible to optimize supply chains, forecast demand, optimize storage or automate repetitive processes and reduce operational costs.
By mining data, it is also possible to identify new business opportunities. A company can discover new market segments and emerging trends. It’s a real innovation stimulator for the development of new products and services.
Finally, Data Science is one of the driving forces behind the digital transformation of companies. Exploiting data, artificial intelligence and machine learning enables automation, improved customer experience and the development of new business models.
An organization that seizes this opportunity can therefore remain competitive in an ever-changing world. However, this requires skills, resources and infrastructure. And this is where the IS administrator plays a crucial role.
Dual expertise essential: AdminSys
To carry out this mission effectively, a professional needs to develop certain key skills in addition to his or her traditional expertise in information systems management: a thorough understanding of Data Science concepts and techniques. A solid grasp of mathematics is required, as are fundamental statistical principles such as probability, distributions, hypothesis testing and regression.
This is what will enable the IS administrator to understand the statistical models and analyses used in Data Science. Knowledge that they can apply themselves, or use to collaborate with experts.
Programming skills are also essential, particularly in languages such as Python, R and SQL, which are widely used for data analysis or building predictive models.
Similarly, data mining, machine learning and predictive analytics techniques must be known inside out. This includes commonly used algorithms such as neural networks, decision trees or ensemble methods.
A modern administrator should also be familiar with popular data science tools and platforms such as TensorFlow, Scikit-learn or Spark.
Project or resource management skills are also a valuable asset. They enable you to take charge of data science management and organization tasks: coordinating stakeholders, setting priorities, allocating resources, monitoring progress…
Beyond technical skills, personal communication and collaboration skills are also essential. For good reason, today’s IS administrator works hand in hand with Data Scientists.
Collaboration between IT administrators and data scientists: AdminSys
While data scientists have a thorough command of data analysis and modeling techniques, information systems administrators have an advanced understanding of information systems and user needs.
It is the combination of these two areas of expertise that maximizes the impact of Data Science within organizations.
Together, these professionals can understand the demands for data and analysis. The administrator can also act as an intermediary between Data Scientists and business teams, gathering their requirements and identifying relevant sources of information.
From this base, Data Scientists can access the required data and develop the appropriate predictive models. In addition, the administrator can facilitate data preparation and management.
He or she can take charge of collecting, cleansing, transforming and storing data in formats suitable for analysis. His role may involve setting up the specific warehousing systems or databases best suited to the project.
To enable scientists to carry out their missions successfully, they must also ensure that infrastructure and resources such as computing power are available.
Beyond the data preparation phase, collaboration can extend throughout the analysis and interpretation process. Indeed, the administrator can help validate results, assess their relevance to business decisions and communicate insights to all stakeholders.
When faced with technical difficulties, these two professionals can also join forces to identify and resolve problems of data quality, model performance or analysis scaling.
Conclusion: Data Science training is a must for the modern IS administrator aka AdminSys
By helping organizations leverage the potential of data to stay competitive, the IS administrator plays a more essential role than ever in the age of Data Science.
Collaborating with Data Scientists and business teams, he or she helps to harness the full potential of data to create value and gain competitive advantage.
By collaborating with Data Scientists and business teams, the IS Administrator can help exploit the full potential of data to create value and gain competitive advantage.
Conversely, this professional can leverage data analysis for systems administration. They can identify infrastructure performance problems, detect and resolve incidents, forecast resource requirements or improve security.
For all these reasons, expertise in data science is essential for today’s information systems administrator. To acquire it, you can choose DataScientest training courses.
Our various curricula enable you to acquire all the skills required for the professions of Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Engineer or Data Product Manager.
You’ll learn about Python and SQL languages, database management solutions, Machine Learning techniques, as well as DataViz and Business Intelligence tools.
All our training courses are distance learning, eligible for fuding, and lead to certification issued by MINES Paris Executive Education or our cloud partners AWS and Microsoft Azure. Discover DataScientest!
You now know everything about the job of information systems administrator, and its major role in Data Science. For more information, see our complete dossier on the Data Scientist or our introductory dossier on the different analysis techniques.
