Today is the Last Day To Register
Tomorrow’s online virtual conference gets under way with replication, SQL Server 2012 features and functions, high availability, indexing, performance management and monitoring and so much more. With more than 30 technical sessions, more than 10 speakers, keynotes on Big Data, SQL Server 2012, and other technologies, you can’t go wrong.
3 days – it all starts tomorrow!
Will you be joining us? Email me directly (swynk@sswug.org) if I can answer any questions – I’m glad to help.
SSWUGtv
With Stephen Wynkoop
Its that time of year again…yes, when we have those wonderful performance reviews for the past year. How do you prepare? Today, Laura Rose shares some great tips you won’t want to miss.
Watch the Show
Final Thoughts About SQL Server Database Architects
Today I follow up about the changing role of database architects in the Microsoft Stack. My intention is not to evaluate it as good or bad, but to recognize it is happening, and encourage those who may need to think about re-tooling their skill sets.
A clear option would be to enhance your skills with Oracle, as there still seems to be work in the Oracle stack for database architecture.
A good Database Architect wanting to remain in the Microsoft stack could consider a transition into the Business Intelligence arena. Data Warehouse design, population, querying and mining are all highly demanded skills today.
Another option is to become proficient providing a more complete data code layer, not simply working in SQL, but also using ORM tools and mapping to business objects.
Even with the use of business objects, there is always a need for a good Data Analyst. Simply because your data may be defined in objects does not determine that the data has less meaning than when it was in a database. Even an Agile team has no problem with a data dictionary. Don’t documents when you don’t need to. But document where it enhances communication and reduces redundancy.
Here’s some more thoughts from our readers.
Ian:
I don’t believe there’s such a thing as an OLTP DBA – there are production DBAs, developers and SQL Server consultants. The whole notion of a "Development DBA" really has disappeared from the corporate landscape: Few companies can afford to keep on permanent staff a highly skilled SQL Server architect for new systems – there just isn’t that much work to do apart from in the largest of organisations.
If specialist SQL Server design is required, companies tend to bring in a SQL Server consultant to do the work on a contract basis. However because the emphasis these days is on low-cost, low-quality software development, conventional wisdom is to let your cheap developers make a mess of the first release, then only call in an expert when the system is causing a crisis to the business.
As for production DBAs, they should have seen the writing on the wall for the past 15 years – ever since SQL Server 7.0, each iteration of the product has reduced the amount of maintenance necessary. More servers could be maintained with fewer staff as the product became more sophisticated. Recently, the move to cloud hosting of databases will drive a further nail into the production DBA coffin.
With less to maintain, the skills required for day-to-day maintenance were and will be, greatly reduced. And if you no longer need highly skilled individuals, you start looking for the cheapest individuals that can perform the job – hence Production DBA’ing is increasingly outsourced to developing nations.
If you’re a production DBA and didn’t see this coming, you most likely didn’t want to see it coming. For many production DBAs, they thought they were going to get a job-for-life installing servers, setting up a few jobs, performing restores for developers and assigning disk space.
My advice to production DBAs would be to get some development skills and get out while you still can. It’s not that there won’t be any production DBA roles, but like an African pond in the dry season, there’ll be less room for the same number of fish – and only the best will survive.
So where are the growth areas? BI (SSIS and SSAS skills are more in demand), MDM, StreamInsight, SQL Azure and Cloud, performance and scalability design/troubleshooting and optimisation of ORM layers are all areas of growth. For those that can make the jump, the future’s exciting. For those that can’t, it’s time to find another profession.
Steven:
The conclusions you came to really do mirror what has happened in my work place for the last twelve years. At that time, I was involved in designing a new system that has online intranet (was classic asp and is now .Net), a batch system (was VB6 now .Net), a host of .dll that control the system on the server, and a SQL Server Database.
At the time, our work had a large DBA group, but they came out with an email saying they would only support Oracle not SQL Server. Well I cheered when this letter came out because I could do everything that needed to be done with the database and did not want their interference. That system is still running today and just about ready to make the jump to a virtualized environment with pure .Net code.
Thanks again for all the great feedback. As always you can contribute by writing to btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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