Is there anything worse than finding out everyone else knew something before you did? No one likes being out of the loop. And in the case of database management, the things your database administrators (DBAs) don’t know can be bad news for your business-critical IT and your organization as a whole. That’s why DBAs must stay on top of emerging database management trends — or they run the risk of falling behind on critical technological and tactical industry updates.  

Growing technological resources and an ever-expanding wealth of data are both a blessing and a curse for DBAs. While they have more tools to work with, they also have more data to store, organize, and maintain, not to mention more architectures to consider. But whether your databases are on premises, in the cloud, or a little bit of both (i.e. a hybrid solution), it’s critical that those who are managing them are up-to-date on the current database management trends to keep your whole business up to speed.

Automation

It’s nearly impossible to speak on database management trends without the word “autonomous” coming up. The autonomous database is indeed shifting the role of database administrators  — but the role of the DBA is far from obsolete. Autonomous databases use machine learning and artificial intelligence to automatically handle certain database administration tasks like tuning, upgrading, and healing. 

Still, well-managed databases require the critical thinking and analytical skills that only a human can provide. Through continued education and training, your DBA can sharpen their skills in order to work with autonomous databases, guaranteeing the transition to these emerging database environments is handled properly and effectively.  

Data in the Cloud 

The migration of databases to the cloud may not be a brand new trend, but it’s an increasingly popular move. As the array of cloud options matures and the benefits of migrating to the cloud become more pronounced, it’s almost inevitable that all DBAs will need experience working with cloud or hybrid cloud database systems. While the core tasks your DBAs perform to keep their systems healthy and operating well are the same regardless of where the databases are deployed, DBAs must stay up to date with the latest technologies and processes in order to execute those tasks. 

An Increased Focus on Security

No matter where data is held, security should always be a priority, and as more data is migrated to the cloud, businesses must increase their focus on database security. It’s imperative to protect sensitive data and database systems from misuse, threats, and attacks; and to assure that you are applying the same focus and attention (if not more) to your security initiatives in the cloud as you were when your workloads were on premises. As hackers become more sophisticated in the cloud,  your DBAs must work closely with IT security teams and take care to encrypt and secure all critical data. 

Big Data

Big data (data sets that are more complex, faster growing, often unstructured, and more voluminous than traditional data) is an increasingly major consideration for database administrators. With advanced technology like machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT) constantly gathering more data,  your organization’s DBAs must adapt and adjust in order to keep pace with this growth. A greater focus on big data — how to best store it, protect it, and make sure it is clean and organized— will be critical for DBAs to maintain this wealth of valuable data is accessible, understandable, and actionable to businesses.

The role of the modern DBA is constantly evolving. With newer technologies (like autonomous databases) and faster-growing pools of data thanks to new sources like IoT, administrators must stay aligned with the shifting trends in database management to keep up. By placing a stronger emphasis on security and big data strategies, honing their skills to work within cloud environments, and learning to work with and supplement the abilities of autonomous databases, your DBAs can be on-trend and in-line with the current database management best practices. 

Staying in the loop with the latest database management trends is critical, but ensuring your business has the right support solution is key. That not only ensures your business’ databases run as efficiently as possible, but also makes certain they provide a solid return on your database support investment.  Whether you’re working with an in-house DBA or a managed services provider (MSP), you want support that delivers the highest ROI. Download our free Database ROI Resource to explore all your database management options and give us a call today.