Insights

In a recent post we proposed a few “database resolutions” for the new year. At the top of that list was “Stop Reacting, Get Proactive.” The value of ending the cycle of “deal with it as it happens” with your databases cannot be overstated.

There are few tasks more integral to business success than ensuring the security and efficiency of your Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL databases. So, it’s no surprise that security remains a top concern for enterprise data management. Although the cloud is more secure than ever before, recent high-profile breaches from the likes of Equifax, Target, and AWS, have made this uphill trust battle even more difficult for cloud service providers.

As technology advances, the roles of the modern workforce are changing just as quickly with new skills needed to master this ever-changing landscape, particularly as business-critical functions move to the cloud. Somewhere in the midst of all of this moving and shaking, some have come to believe that with the shift to the cloud, the role of the DBA has ceased to exist altogether. To borrow from Mark Twain, the rumors of the death of the DBA have been greatly exaggerated.

On February 28, a simple typo from Amazon Web Services stalled roughly 150,000 sites for hours, hobbling countless companies around the world. The mishap hit brands like Airbnb, Business Insider, Expedia, News Corp, and many other major global companies, stalling productivity for those businesses as well as all those who rely on their services. To say the least, it was a rough day for AWS and the many, many organizations its services touch.

No one ever said managing a database was easy. Last week we covered several steps that are often overlooked in database administration, this week we’re turning our attention to common database management missteps.

Having the right people in the right positions is what makes your business work. In IT the reality is that finding strong talent isn’t easy and it can be difficult to have all of your needs staffed properly, including your database administration. During staffing crunches, we often see Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL database management as one of those roles thrust upon an “accidental DBA.” You know, the tech savvy team member who knows just enough about database management to get your team by in a pinch.

Quick question for you: How quickly and easily can your company’s ERP system scale as your business grows? The needs of a business will change and evolve as it grows, and you want an ERP solution that will not only seamlessly grow with your organization but also help fuel that growth.

We don’t need to tell you, keeping your business running smoothly is an ongoing process. Regular maintenance of business-critical IT infrastructure elements like Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL databases is essential to the growth of any organization.

It’s a fact of the modern workplace — business units are bypassing IT and adopting solutions that are not sanctioned or managed by IT. This so called “shadow IT” phenomenon opens your business to risks that haunt the dreams of many a CIO and exposes the challenges many businesses face when evaluating new technologies.

A recent McKinsey report on cloud adoption found that by 2018, the 77% of enterprises now using traditionally built IT infrastructure as the primary environment for at least one workload will drop to 43% by 2018. There’s no use denying it, the cloud is completely changing how we do business, and that’s even more true for those in IT.