Can the sys admin see all workspaces in an account on Enterprise using Control Center?

kmiller2

Trying to understand why the overarching 'sys admin' for an account doesn't have access to see the workspaces which have been created across the account? Is this just limited in the business version but if you upgrade to Enterprise version you can get that insight using Control Center? If the sys admin is responsible for the account as an administrator, why don't they have any rights to have visibility into what all has been setup / created in the account and by whom? Maybe there is a way / report I am missing?

Paul Newcome

You can set up Control Center to automatically share certain users to all items created. This is done in the last step of the blueprint creation (Permissions and Sharing).

Andy_B

Hi @kmiller2,

The answer to your question partly depends on whether or not the System Administrator is a Licensed or Unlicensed User. (It is possible to to have a System Admin who is Unlicensed). The System Admin manages user roles and adjusts settings for everyone in your organization's account, but this does not require a Smartsheet license.

As far as the workspaces go, the owner of each workspace is the one who sets the sharing permissions and by extension, the visibility users have to each respective workspace. A System Admin would be able to view or edit a workspace if the owner shared access (admin, editor, or viewer) with the System Admin. Of course to create a workspace, the System Admin would also have to be Licensed.

The System Admin does have the ability to transfer ownership of items from one Licensed user to another during the process of revoking a License. This can be done under from the Admin Center by selecting User Management. However, the System Admin would still need to have shared access to view the contents of those items. If your role within your organization is also top-level manager who would need visibility into all your organization's assets, I would suggest asking the owners of key assets to share access with you at the admin level. Alternatively, you could create your own workspaces so you are the owner, then grant admin access to the appropriate people and instruct them create assets within your workspaces. But this will not prevent a Licensed user from creating their own workspace if they so choose.

As far as Control Center is concerned, it is an add-on module that is designed for creating blueprints so that recurring projects can be created repeatedly and consistently at scale. This is more of an advanced level capability. But even if it was utilized, it still wouldn't allow you to have 100% visibility of all assets created by users in your organization.

If your goal is to have an omniscient view into all assets within your organization's account, then Smartsheet will unfortunately (but wisely) not deliver. One of the key features of this program is permissions which help to protect the integrity and accessibility of a Licensed user's assets. The System Admin can take the ultimate step of revoking said user's license and self-assigning ownership of all the user's assets to obtain that visibility, but I don't think that's the direction you would want to go.

If your organization does have a large amount of assets that you're having trouble keeping track of, it might be time to look into a Digital Asset Management solution like Brandfolder. That could help you at the organizational level to more easily organize, find, and retrieve your most important assets when you need them.

Hope this helps!

Paul Newcome

You can set up Control Center to automatically share certain users to all items created. This is done in the last step of the blueprint creation (Permissions and Sharing).

kmiller2

Thank you so much for detailed response Paul - this has resolutely answered my question about system admin. I know that if people leave the org and there is an issue with getting to workspaces and/or any assets which were created staff will all be looking to me as the defined SS "sys admin" to be able to resolve their issues. You did mention that I will be able to re-assign assets should I need to revoke or move a license if someone abruptly leaves company, and others cannot get to the assets - so I think we are all good. Appreciate!

kmiller2

Sorry I meant thank you for detailed response Andy B and thank you for additional note Paul on being able to accomplish via blueprint in control center - for when we get there!