Insights

With data being the lifeblood of your business, it’s crucial for every organization to keep well-managed databases. Having the right database management skills and the diligence of following best practices for the proper maintenance and optimization of its databases strongly impacts the overall health of an entire organization. The knowledge and skills your organization’s database administrators must possess are crucial in facilitating the health, availability, and performance of a database. Since DBAs are required to consistently optimize database performance and handle any situation that may arise, they must be diligent in following best practices for database management.

“In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital.” ~ Warren G Bennis Have you asked yourself this question? “Are my current database management needs the same as they were five years ago?” As the industry evolves over time, the needs of your business transform as well. If you haven’t reevaluated your database management support requirements in some time, it’s likely your organization’s needs have changed. When it comes to managing your enterprise database system, what works for one company may not always work for another; and what may be best-suited for your business at one point in time may not always be the best fit in the long run. This includes factors outside of your organization that may have changed (i.e. technological shifts, new platform offerings, product/service choices, etc.). This is why it’s important to assess where you currently stand with your database management support strategy, and if necessary, make those changes that will lead your organization towards growth and success.

Your SQL Server database is the foundation of your ERP solution, supporting the applications that power your business with solid data and storage. Those databases are filled with critical data for your corporation — irreplaceable business history, intelligence, and all the data your business needs to maintain the overall health of your company. Keeping them organized and running smoothly is integral to all of your organization’s daily functions and requires meticulous database management.

Using remote support for database administration may seem like a scary prospect. What happens if something goes down? Will you be able to reach them? Would an in-house database administrator (DBA) be able to help be faster? There are a lot of questions to be sure.

Employee turnover is to be expected with any business, but it can be particularly disruptive when it comes to your IT team. For instance, if your database administrator (DBA) leaves, it won’t be long until your IT team feels stretched assuming the role of accidental DBA — picking up their tasks until a strong replacement is found and brought up to speed.

If you’ve ever been told, “because that’s the way it’s always been done,” you know that’s the kiss of death for innovation. Yet, that’s the very reason so many organizations are stuck with sub-par database management solutions that either stretch IT resources too thin or rely on under-qualified staff (e.g. an accidental DBA) to manage this critical technology. In this day and age of constant digital transformation, the excuses to not have a solid support solution for your SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL databases are dwindling.

Putting a number on the full value of having a great Database Administrator (DBA) would be a nearly impossible task, to say the least. This role is responsible for not only managing the data that keeps your business up and running, but finding ways to truly optimize those systems to help your business thrive.

Technology is moving at a rip-roaring rate with advances being made every minute, accelerating and simplifying processes, however, not everyone is keeping up. Whether you’re still managing your Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL databases on premise, or making do with skill gaps in your IT department, the time has come to take a long, hard look at how you’re managing your databases.

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.

‘Tis definitely the season for good cheer, good fun, and vacation days. But while you and your IT staff are enjoying family, friends, and turkey, who’s keeping an eye on key business processes and services?