No matter what field you work in, there will be changes over time. As technology becomes more and more advanced, everyone from doctors to politicians and athletes must learn to use these changes to their advantage. While other professions have encountered these changes, few have experienced them on the same level as database administrators.
Thirty years after the computerization of databases, the Internet has lead to an exponential growth within the industry – whether indirectly or directly, everything that compiles data uses a database. Recent times have proven to be an exceptional period of the production and capturing of a nearly overwhelming amount of data. This has obviously created opportunities for businesses to gain visibility into their customers and industry, but it has also created many challenges in database management.
Database Management Problems
- Data Integration from Various Sources – With the advancement of smartphones, new mobile applications, and the Internet of Things, businesses must be able to have their data adapt accordingly. These varying types of data and sources cause a typical data center of today to contain patchwork for data management technologies. The management techniques have become more diverse than ever.
- Public and Private Data Security – In today’s digital world, security is the most prevalent concern. Businesses must be able to ensure that every bit of their data remains safe and at limited risk of exposure from hackers or leaks. Database breaches of highly sensitive information have led to the destroyed reputation of businesses. It is up to the manager of the database to ensure that the data is fully secured at all times.
- The Management of Cloud-Based Databases – In recent years, the Cloud has become one of the biggest terms in the tech community. Both businesses and consumers want to be able to access their data from database from the cloud or from a cloud database provider’s servers in addition to the standard on-premises mode of deployment. Cloud computing enables users to effectively allocate resources, optimize scaling, and allow for high availability. Handling database that run on the cloud and on-premises is yet another challenge for database managers.
- The Growth of Structured and Unstructured Data – The amount of data that has being both created and collected has been growing at an unprecedented rate for years. Those who deal with analytics may be excited by the promise of insight and business intelligence that comes from big data, but those who manage databases face the challenges that come along with managing overall growth and data types from an increasing number of database platforms.
Database Management Solutions
There are four main areas to think about when thinking about approaching these database problems. The following are a few things to consider as solutions:
- Data Strategy
- What kind of data is important and what kind of performance should be achieved? What data needs to be protected and what should be analyzed?
- How much historical data must be accumulated? What does this mean for capacity planning and disk space?
- Can you monetize on your data? Which data needs to be aggregated or correlated to provide the necessary insights into the business?
- Database Support
- You must consider that moving to the cloud does not guarantee data backup and security. This is something that must still be managed with 24/7 monitoring and coverage.
- Are the right personnel members with the necessary skill sets always available?
- Backup Strategy
- Do you have the right kind of backup retention available?
- Have you determined the necessary backup frequency to determine the Recovery Point Objective (RPO)?
- Have you determined the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) due to high availability requirements?
- Security Strategy
- How will external and internal security be handled? Who can access what?
- What kind of data access policies should be in place?
- How are regulatory requirements handled?
- In the event of a hack, breach, or leak, how will data exposure be handled?
At Dobler Consulting, we work tirelessly to solve and prevent these problems from occurring in databases with our Database Managed Services. The organizations and businesses of today demand the highest levels of security and support for their data, but don’t have the time or skills set to properly service their database. Our Database Managed Services allow our clients to focus on their business while we keep their database running at peak performance.
For more information, visit our Database Managed Services page or contact us today!