I goofed up the editorial yesterday – but wanted to get this out – sorry for any duplication for those that saw it on the site – SW.
What Do We Call Ourselves These Days?
I am in Las Vegas talking with some other IT pros and we got into a bit of a discussion today about what, exactly, we call ourselves these days.
I think "DBA" may be on the verge of being outdated, or at least too narrow. I also think the responsibilities of the positions are shifting rather dramatically. This was the basis of the thought – that the responsibilities and expectations of the positions are evolving so rapidly that to call some a DBA is not really looking at what they’re working with.
What do I mean? Specifically I am talking about the fact that we’re expected to not only provide for the more traditional items of systems management, backup, recovery and such, but also data USE and data analysis, reporting and modification. From SSIS to BI-type reporting and query-support, I think it’s a requirement to provide for these.
So, how do you describe these responsibilities on the whole? I’ve heard "data scientist" thrown around, I’ve heard "data architect" and many others. What do you think? I’m not really looking for titles, though that’s interesting. I’m more interested in what the groupings of responsibilities are at this point. With the cloud, and the requirements surrounding configuration in support of the cloud, things change – now or in the very near future.
How are data responsibilities broken down in your company? Big or small, I’d love to know.
With many of the people I’ve been talking with, there seems to be a functional grouping. First, application-type system – SharePoint, retail systems, reporting – then functional (with some overlap) – things like reporting, architecture and administration.
Why beat on this? Because I think it has *learning* implications. I think we need to start building resources (not just on SSWUG) around the types of responsibility sets that people are facing. I think if we can help define this, we can take a step forward in that area.
Speaking of Surface…
No, wasn’t really speaking of it, but I needed a way to change the subject. 🙂
I’m curious what your experiences and opinions are for the Microsoft Surface tablet? I am putting together a show and article about my experiences, and I’m wondering what you have found, what you like, what you don’t like, if you’re head-over-heals in love with it or what…
Please, drop me a note, let me know – good or bad, I’d appreciate it.
What do you think? Let me know…
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