Chris Foot

Circa 1988.  I entered the technology space, writing SAS/JCL on an IBM 3270 for the Federal Government.  There was something missing though. Countless merges, duplicate data filtering and large data sets all seemed like a horrible waste of resources and, more importantly, time. Not only that, SAS user guides filled my entire cubicle, making it nearly impossible to evolve the skill set quickly.

The database market landscape no longer consists of a handful of traditional database vendor offerings. The database market arena has exploded with dozens of new database offerings and architectures from organizations that range the spectrum. Competition from super-sized, nontraditional database vendors, open source offerings and startups are feeding the rapid escalation of advancements in database technologies.

In this second article of our 2017 Database Trends series, we analyze Microsoft’s SQL Server on Linux offering.   We evaluate the impact the new offering will have on the database market arena and, more specifically, what the consequences will be for the Microsoft vs Oracle war for DBMS market dominance.

In this third installment of our 2017 Database Trends analysis series, we focus our attention on the emergence of multi-model database management systems.  We examine the impact the larger database vendors will have on their smaller, NoSQL competitors.  In addition, we also discuss the premise that the vendor with the best technology doesn’t always win the battle for market share – or even survive as a viable competitor in some cases.

In the final installment of our 2017 Database Trends analysis series, we evaluate the database community’s rising interest in open source database offerings.   We discuss the impact these upstart competitors will have on the industry heavyweights that include Oracle, Microsoft and IBM.

Process automation, because of its wide range of application, takes many forms. Manufacturing companies have been using industrial robots to replace activities traditionally performed by humans for some time. Business process automation shares the same goal: to replace business functions performed by humans with software applications. Work activities that are repetitive in nature and require little intelligent analysis and decision making to complete are prime candidates for process automation.

Introduction

Remember when comparing database products was easy? The number of alternatives was limited to the “big three” relational, on-premises database vendors. You couldn’t go wrong if you chose Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server or IBM DB2. Well, those days are over, and that is a very good thing for the database consumer.

This is the second installment in the Who Will Win the Database Wars series which analyzes the most significant areas of database vendor competition. In addition to this comparison, the series also includes the following competitive assessments:

This is the third installment in the Who Will Win the Database Wars series which analyzes the most significant areas of database vendor competition. In addition to this comparison, the series also includes the following competitive assessments:

This is the fourth installment in the Who Will Win the Database Wars series which analyzes the most significant areas of database vendor competition. In addition to this comparison, the series also includes the following competitive assessments:

This is the final installment in the Who Will Win the Database Wars series which analyzes the most significant areas of database vendor competition. In addition to this comparison, the series also includes the following competitive assessments:

Databases in the Cloud
Technology leaders are being inundated with a flood of new cloud architectures, strategies and products – all guaranteed by vendors and various industry pundits to solve all of our database challenges.  The seemingly endless array of public cloud based DBMS offerings can quickly become bewildering.  This article is intended to peel back the veil of cloud based DBMS offerings by providing readers with our experiences with cloud based database architectures.

Those who excel at tuning understand that the tuning process starts with an understanding of the problem and continues with the administrator collecting statistical information. Information collection begins at a global level and then narrows in scope until the problem is pinpointed. This article provides hints and tips that can be used to determine what architectural component is causing the problem.  

We learned in previous articles that it takes more than just being a great technician to keep your customers happy.  The theme of this series is that if you want to be viewed as a strategic resource in your organization, being a technical expert isn’t enough.  Because of the trade you have chosen, the DBA position provides you with an excellent opportunity to play a more strategic role in your organization.

This is Part 4 of a series that compares in-house personnel, consultants and remote DBA service providers.  In Part 1, we talked about the cost reduction benefits that remote DBA service providers offer customers.  In Part 2, we discussed service continuity and quality as well as the flexibility benefits customers receive when utilizing a remote DBA service provider.  In Part 3, we reviewed the benefits of collective knowledge and deep dive subject matter expertise.

In part 4 of the Remote DBA Benefits Comparison Series, we’ll discuss how remote DBA providers deliver personalized services to customers.  I use RDX’s service delivery approach as an example of how remote DBA providers can exceed the quality of work performed by in-house personnel or consultants.

This is Part 3 of a series that compares in-house personnel, consultants and remote DBA service providers.  In Part 1, we talked about the cost reduction benefits that remote DBA service providers offer customers.  In Part 2 we discussed service continuity and quality as well as the flexibility benefits customers receive when utilizing a remote DBA service provider.

In this installment of the series, we’ll focus on the collective knowledge benefits and subject matter expertise remote DBA service providers offer clients.  I use my organization, RDX, as an example.  

In part 1, we talked about the cost reduction benefits that remote DBA service providers offer customers. In part 2 of the Remote DBA Benefits Comparison Series, we’ll discuss the continuity and quality of service and support flexibility benefits customers experience when utilizing a remote DBA service provider. We’ll also compare these benefits to in-house and consulting alternatives.

Introduction

I’ve been working in the IT profession for close to 30 years now. In virtually all facets related to database administration, I’ve had the good fortune of performing a fairly varied set of tasks for my employers over the last couple of decades.    

The theme of this series of articles is that if you want to be viewed as a strategic resource in your organization, being a technical expert isn’t enough.  Because of the trade you have chosen, the DBA position provides you with an excellent opportunity to play a more strategic role in your organization.

As a DBA, it takes more than just being a great technician to keep your customers happy. There are dozens of database experts that are willing to provide you with their own technical administration best practices. In this series, I intend to round out your knowledge to make you more than just a good administrator. And I have a news blast for you: if you want to be viewed as a strategic resource, being a technical expert isn’t enough.