SolarWinds has been running its IT Pro Day celebration on the third Tuesday of each September since 2015. It is a day honouring the always-on tech pros for all they do. While the stereotype may be a basement-dwelling geek who yells at you to reboot your computer instead of talking to them, SolarWinds wants to recognise and appreciate the skilled and dedicated IT professionals behind the technologies powering our modern world, our offices, the products and features we depend on or enjoy, and more.

The annual IT Pro Day has been discussed here in the pages of iTWire each year, particularly around the IT Pro Day awards, to recognise those tech pros who have demonstrated excellence in their profession.

However, there is much more to it than awards, and SolarWinds head geek Chrystal Taylor spoke with iTWire to tell us about it.

"SolarWinds has always been a company out to help the ordinary IT pro," she said. "We make simple tools to save time and help IT pros be efficient. This has always been the goal of the company.”

Yet, SolarWinds noted, IT was "kind of ignored," Taylor said. In many industries, sales teams and more public-facing units received awards, trips, and prizes, while IT and engineering staff didn’t get the same acknowledgement. I’ve no doubt many iTWire readers themselves have heard the claim IT doesn’t make money and is a cost to the business. It’s a frustrating and erroneous viewpoint; I’ve always maintained good technology may have a price tag but it ultimately doesn’t cost - it brings value to the business (otherwise you’re doing IT wrong.)

Of course, Taylor notes, it's "changing now these days as more things are moving to tech, and we rely on it as a global society” but definitely, it was not so many years ago that the work of IT was mysterious and arcane and, to an extent, unappreciated.

Hence the IT Pro Day awards were launched. In fact, Taylor says, SolarWinds runs an internal IT Pro Day awards for its own organisation, for the internal IT teams. “Everyone who doesn’t work directly in IT gets to hear about the really good work, and it is broadcast to the company.”

Employees make nominations in-house, and there is an internal celebration, along with recognition and gratitude expressed by the executive team. Also, “the multimedia team product videos every year which are super fun,” she says. “They’re published on our YouTube channel, and let us laugh and celebrate the things we have to put up with and deal with. It gives us levity.”

Meanwhile, the external IT awards - the public awards reported on in iTWire - are open for nominations around the world, for IT professionals in all industries and roles and stages of their careers.

The nominations come in, and Taylor leaves no doubt about how she finds the flood of stories. “I love it so much,” she says. “I love that I get to be a part of it and read all these stories and nominations.”

"I'm happy to read every one of them. The stories are delightful to read, about people recognising other people and telling their accomplishments. I love reading what kind of work they do, how people contribute back, how they make people feel,” Taylor said.

The Rookie of the Year in particular gives really interesting stories; "people are coming in from totally different areas - like teaching or truck driving - and transitioning to tech and totally blowing it out of the water. It’s their first year and tech and they’re getting all kinds of praise and compliments, and that’s what the day is all about,” she said.

In fact, "all the awards are about blowing away expectations. All the recommendations are so nice to read. People nominate from all over the world and we receive more nominations every year.”

“I'm so happy people are recognising others, and putting the effort in to say to people ‘you’re doing great.’”

"I want to promote more praise," Taylor says.

Additionally, SolarWinds launches research on IT Pro Day. This year, after talk of the great migration or great resignation, SolarWinds were keen to understand more about people’s tech careers and how they have changed particularly as the world strives to return to normal after more than two years of a global pandemic.

One observation from the results Taylor noted is that "the pandemic shifted priorities for a lot of people. There’s a lot more concern now with getting the pay and recognition they deserve, and a better life/work balance. It’s evident in the results employers are taking note of that, with companies moving to remote first or remote only and providing options to keep balance.”

However, at the same time, Taylor notes, "the career market right now is really strange. Usually, it’s one or the other - companies all wanting to hire, or having a hiring freeze due to economic consequences - but we’re seeing both at the same time now.”

Whatever happens, it's Taylor's view "we're not moving to an age where there will be no in-office. If companies are going to require hybrid work situations there needs to be a purpose to it. If people in the office are all in on the same day then that makes sense, but if you’re going to the office to sit on Teams, what was the purpose?”

"I accomplish different things in the office vs. at home," she notes. "We'll see more realisation around that. I think we’re leaning into hybrid; it’s important for culture and for humans. It helps you be more empathetic which you can be distanced from when behind a screen.”

So, that's IT Pro Day and why SolarWinds celebrates it each year. "More praise is always better,” Taylor says.

"It's one of my favourite times of the year. It's so positive. We can do with more of this in tech, putting back the good and positivity into the IT world,” she says.

Enjoy some of the fun below from SolarWinds' marketing team: