Improving database and system performance means more than tweaking technology to make things run faster and with fewer hiccups. Most data managers and professionals see a strong connection between improving database performance and overall corporate performance - such as increasing revenue and reducing costs.

These are part of the results of a new survey of 853 professionals, conducted by Unisphere Research in conjunction with the International DB2 Users Group (IDUG). The survey, sponsored by CA and conducted by Unisphere Research, explored the dramatic changes reshaping the jobs of today’s data professionals.

Most striking is the growing connection between adroit data management and business success. For one, the survey showed, data managers are concerned about managing the explosion of data, and are looking for ways to manage the process. Forty percent said the data explosion is their top challenge this year, surpassing meeting compliance mandates (27 percent), and business intelligence initiatives (21 percent).

By working closely with the business to achieve better data output and performance, data managers and professionals are dramatically changing their roles within organizations, with new tools as well as resourcefulness. For example, one respondent noted how within his organization, "a specific partitioned data warehouse table was closely reaching its maximum size and this table is used by operational systems also. I increased the partition numbers from 20 to 100 to better distribute the data and slow partition growth rate. An outage on this table would result in a severity 1-level outage of many critical operational systems."

The survey also found that many data managers and professionals are expanding their range of expertise to provide higher-level services to enterprises. However, many feel that data professionals are not receiving the training and support needed to improve their skills base. Seventy-two percent of respondents, in fact, say they need more support from their organizations for training and development of database staffs.

To address their need for new skills, most cited forms of ad hoc on-the-job training. In-person, off-site training in the form of industry conference and local users groups is the approach most respondents prefer.

The area of expertise most in need of training is performance management, cited by 57 percent of respondents. Another 44 percent are seeking more training for their staffs in the areas of application integration and integration. In fact, at least 37 percent of the respondents, who primarily consider themselves to be database administrators, reported their time engaged in application development and integration has grown over the past year. Most efforts focus on SQL statement development and data modeling and design.

Of particular interest is the rising role of data managers and professionals involved in consulting to the business. Forty-four percent reported their time engaged in business consulting activities has grown over the past year, primarily in the areas of database design/modeling and resolving storage or archiving issues. Respondents reported they are increasingly taking on roles as consultants to the business, to engage with and assist business users to gain the most value from their data assets. These end-users are increasingly becoming empowered with applications and tools, such as analytic software. More than eight out of 10 respondents (83 percent) said they spend at least some of their time per week involved in directly consulting to the business.

The priorities of respondents who spend most of their time in business consulting-related activities differ sharply from those mainly engaged in traditional database administration. While both types of data professionals are likely to be focused on managing explosive data growth, data managers engaged in business consulting are far more likely than traditional database administrators to be focusing on developing service-oriented architectures (34 percent versus 18 percent). Likewise, respondents engaged in business consulting roles are more likely to be moving forward business intelligence initiatives (33 percent versus 18 percent). Enterprise information integration is also more of a top concern among professionals engaged with the business (31 percent versus 21 percent).

The changing priorities seen in the survey reflect the increasing importance of effectively managing the business’s data assets. DBAs and data professionals are now more than simply caretakers for the day-to-day operations of database systems. Organizations need data professionals who will perform higher-level tasks and interact with the business, taking roles as "data stewards." To be successful in this environment, many data professionals indicated that they need additional training, new tools, improved automation of routine tasks and career advancement. Survey results are available from CA and from IDUG.

About the Author:

Joe McKendrick edits 5 Minute Briefing: Data Center, serving the SHARE community. He can be reached at Joe@dbta.com.