Heading towards a greener tomorrow

We’re excited to share that Butterfly Data has officially been recognised as a Snowflake AI Data Cloud Services Select Partner. This is an important milestone for us and reflects the hard work we’ve put into building our Snowflake expertise through hands-on collaboration, training, and certifications across our team.

Becoming a Select Partner means we’re even better positioned to help organisations unlock the true value of their data. With Snowflake’s powerful platform and our client-focused approach, we can support businesses in transforming the way they manage, govern, and analyse their data, turning it into real business impact.

This achievement also adds to our growing list of partnerships, which already includes being a SAS Gold Partner, Databricks Registered Consulting Partner, and Microsoft Silver Partner. Together, these partnerships highlight our commitment to working with the best technology providers in the industry, so we can continue to deliver innovative and practical solutions for our clients.

Butterfly Data is excited to announce that 12 members of its team from across the country will be taking part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 5th October 2025.

The team is running to raise funds for two worthy causes: the NSPCC, the UK’s largest children’s charity protecting children from abuse and running Childline, and Vasculitis UK, which supports patients and families affected by vasculitis, funds research, and raises awareness of the condition. To amplify their efforts, Butterfly Data will match donations up to £500, with all funds raised split equally between the two charities.

The marathon route will take participants past some of Cardiff’s most iconic landmarks, including Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Civic Centre, and Cardiff Bay.

The Butterfly team hopes to combine fitness, team spirit, and social impact in this challenge, and they encourage everyone to support their efforts.

Donations can be made via Butterfly Data’s Go Fund Me page, with every contribution helping to make a real difference in the lives of children and people living with vasculitis.

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Before the pandemic, many a critical issue had to be solved 'on-site' fuelled by the late-night staples Peanut M&M's and black coffee, with the whole floor plunged into darkness except for the glow of your desk. Today, 'working from home' has certainly made life easier for the SysAdmin. Much of the work can be done remotely, which is great – unless that server just refuses to come back online, forcing you to get in the car and drive directly to the server room.

The modern cloud paints a lovely picture of Fluffy Clouds – an analogy that represents compute for everyone: simple, ethereal, always available. The cloud drives so much of what we do today, not just at work but in our homes too. But the reality is somewhat different for the SysAdmin. There's still a physical computer somewhere, running in a room with lots of other computers, called Data Centres.

These Data Centres can be incredibly vast, like the Vantage Data Centres campus in South Wales, spanning 750,000 square feet (about 10 standard football pitches) and housing, at least, 100,000 servers. Navigating such immense spaces takes lonely hours of effort to physically reach a problem with a "Crash Cart" and maintain these critical machines. SysAdmins often work in super-cooled environments, wearing thick coats, scarves, and gloves to stay warm, all while wearing ear protectors against the deafening hum of thousands of machines.

There's immense stress and countless tales from working in Data Centres, and it's physically demanding work. It's not just command lines and keyboards; it's pure muscle. Picking the wrong cable amongst the "cable hells," a mistyped command, a forgotten 'enter' key, or pulling the wrong power cable – in a Data Centre – might be a small human error, but it can have catastrophic, company-wide implications. The pressure is immense.

You can't just walk in, use your mobile phone, or carry a hot drink with you. A simple 'comfort break' isn't quick either; navigating multiple layers of security and walking considerable distances means a bathroom trip can take you away from your task for a significant amount of time, often requiring re-entry procedures like de-robing, re-robing, and sanitising.

It's an adage often whispered among IT professionals: "Happy Users is a very hard-working SysAdmin." It encapsulates the tireless dedication required to keep the digital gears turning smoothly. Yet, the cruel irony is that when systems are running perfectly, the very same business users can often be heard saying, "The SysAdmins don’t do anything. Why do we need them? Everything is working!" This sentiment, while frustrating, perfectly underscores why SysAdmins truly are the unsung heroes of our digital age.

Increasingly, businesses are dependent on their digital systems and data to drive strategy and, ultimately, profits. Business leaders are reliant on reports, visualisations, and operational processes to be secure, reliable, and quick. The analyst who creates a crucial report gets the credit for their work, not the SysAdmin who tirelessly rescued the data from backup in time for the meeting, a report the analyst may have accidentally deleted.

Of course, like any profession, there are isolated incidents or misguided decisions – the occasional headline about a well-meaning but ultimately disastrous attempt to 'save energy' by turning off cooling comes to mind. However, these rare outliers should never overshadow the overwhelming dedication and meticulous care of SysAdmins who operate with unwavering professionalism.

So, as we celebrate International System Administrator Appreciation Day (or SysAdmin Day) on July 25th, let's take a moment to truly acknowledge these extraordinary professionals. They are the silent sentinels, the diligent guardians, the ones who work tirelessly behind the scenes – often without credit – to keep our digital world running smoothly. They endure the silent watches in vast, fortress-like data centres and perform countless unseen acts of digital salvation.

They may not wear capes, but today, maybe they can.

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