Columnists Commentary

Database storage is still generally handled the way it has been handled for the past two decades.  DBAs request more space and storage administrators allocate more space.  There is very little collaboration and very little understanding of the relationship between storage and database performance.  A lot of the conventional wisdom about databases and storage is wrong or out of date.  DBAs have to be more proactive in looking at the storage infrastructure for the databases.  If you don’t know if your database is getting optimal performance from its storage array, James Koopmann writes, it probably doesn’t.

Within a database, a table’s meaning often becomes ambiguous.  A table design may start out clear but can then get cluttered with columns that may or may not be needed.  Designers should think about tables not as an arbitrary collection of data points but as the set of known truths about an entity.  A table containing customer data contains the known truth about the customers.  By understanding the validity of table structures as the known truth about an entity, rather than a generalized dumping ground for data somehow related to a generalized subject area, database designers can better determine if changes or additions will stretch the table beyond its intended scope.

In a column looking at the major trends for the SQL Server community in 2007, Kevin Kline argues that open source databases, particularly MySQL, no longer pose the threat to SQL Server they did two years ago.  The honeymoon with open source is over, he writes, and Microsoft has won back mindshare with the release of the free SQL Server Express.  While MySQL and other open source database platforms have their supporters, there is no reason to believe that companies will institute widespread migrations from commercial databases to open source databases.

While most people have already broken their New Year’s resolutions by this time, DBAs should make and keep two promises to themselves. First, they should business-oriented.  DBAs can be too fond of technology and must not blind themselves to the business reasons for the implementation of the software and hardware that fascinates them. They should immediately understand the impact of technology on real business processes.  Secondly, Craig Mullins urges DBAs to develop better social skills.  Better social skills will lead to a better working environment and more productivity. DBAs, he adds, cannot

Oracle had a slow start in the CRM arena but after the acquisition spree that saw it  scoopup Siebel Systems, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, it has a huge array of CRM offerings.  Customers may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of offerings but they should not be worried about their product selection.  Oracle, Dr. Kumar R. notes, has promised both to support its entire existing product line and provide an easy migration path to new products and services.

According to Guy Harrison, many of the claims for BI tools are overstated, and they are little more than GUI query-and-reporting tools with a limited ability to transform two-dimensional relational data into a multi-dimensional cubes.  Over time, functionality such as creating business reports will be performed by the base database management systems from companies like Microsoft and Oracle.  Nevertheless, he said, tools with deep analytic and predictive capabilities, like those from the privately held software company SAS, will continue to play an important role in the market.