Re: What is Oracle10G?

"Niall Litchfield" <niall.litchfield_at_dial.pipex.com> wrote in message news:<3f1c66e9$0$15041$cc9e4d1f_at_news.dial.pipex.com>...

> I don't buy that this is where data *storage* is going. If it is check out
> cache and other ODBMS.

I don't think it is either. However, the fact remains that more and more the actual data "storage" will be "commoditized", if you pardon the expression. It won't matter much who is storing what where. What will be important is how to get to it and manipulate/search the data for further processing. For that to happen on a grand scale, you need an OO interface to the pre-defined processes and a very good catalog/dictionary. IOW, the days of ad-hoc SQL are numbered, IMHO. You'll have a pre-defined interface based on OO techniques (PL/SQL or other is immaterial, I'm guessing XML "schemas" at this stage with an outer layer of PL/SQL) and you use it. What it does behind the scenes is part of the "commodity" service.

> If I am allowed to hazard a guess, the number 1 skill required of
> DBAs/designers etc is performance tuning.

Disagree. Of DBA's, sure. Of designers? Once again we're confusing the two jobs. They are far from the same. In the past that may have been the case in the ORacle arena. Nowadays, most emphatically no.

> This doesn't sit well with all
> this idle capacity. I'm afraid I suspect that most capacity is idle when its
> not needed, but at crunch time it strains. shipping processing around the
> network in a load balanced,transparent manner without causing more problems
> than it introduces? well it might happen. I'm not holding my breath.
>

Agreed 100%.  

> Where this datafarms made of cheap kit running commodity software does make
> sense is the asp market. That to me still needs work. Oracle apps/SAP/amazon
> etc etc run their business on this stuff - farming it out to a commodity
> facility with no bespokes and no control, aint gonna happen.

I hope you're right. I can't provide names, but I know of at least one major manufacturer that would simply die to be able to farm out data storage to the cheapest supplier (read: third-world). Regardless of the impact. Their objective: store the data where it is cheapest to keep and manage, retrieve to and process it where you need it. Simple.

What impact this will have on IT as we know it I don't know, but one thing seems certain from recent market evolution: the traditional skills of the DBA and programmer are less and less in demand. To be replaced by other new skills.

Cheers
Nuno Souto
wizofoz2k_at_yahoo.com.au.nospam Received on Mon Jul 21 2003 - 22:10:39 CDT