As cloud computing has become more prevalent, many of the traditional roles and duties of a database administrator (DBA) are shifting. Without on-premise databases to look after, DBAs need to turn their attention to virtual machines hosted on the cloud. This requires new skills, which changes the focus of their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.
For traditional on-site databases, DBAs are responsible for installing and configuring the necessary hardware and software. After installation, they continuously monitor the system to improve performance and plan for future requirements. Cloud-based DBAs, on the other hand, spend the majority of their time focusing on customising the database, improving query performance, reviewing code and boosting security.
New challenges for DBA professionals
Since 2020, South African businesses have been adopting the cloud at an increasing rate. Cloud databases offer a cost-effective and scalable solution for data storage and management. As a result, they have become a popular choice among businesses of all sizes. This leaves DBAs with a lot of work to do if they want to stay professionally relevant.
Modern cloud economics shows that cloud computing offers immense value. The primary focus of cloud adoption in enterprises should be on unlocking the full business value potential created by cloud spend. While this is a challenging undertaking for any enterprise, successful DBAs are the ones who ensure excellent ROI on their database management system.
How does a DBA fit into cloud computing?
Cloud providers are now responsible for many of the management services that were once the sole domain of the DBA, such as backup and disaster recovery. What’s more, with cloud-based systems, much of the software-based tasks that used to be handled by the DBA are now automated.
This leaves the DBA with more time to focus on other tasks, such as developing and maintaining databases, creating data models and optimising query performance. Some of the key tasks and responsibilities of a DBA with a cloud-based database include:
- Configuring and managing cloud-based databases, such as creating and scaling instances, and configuring security settings and network access.
- Monitoring the performance of the database and troubleshooting any issues that arise.
- Ensuring data integrity, security and compliance with company policies and regulations.
- Managing backups and disaster recovery, including creating and testing disaster recovery plans.
- Managing and optimising database performance by tuning SQL queries, indexes and other database parameters.
- Managing the integration of the cloud-based database with other systems and applications.
- Keeping up-to-date with new features and services offered by the cloud provider and making recommendations on how to leverage them to improve the performance, security and availability of the databases.
The future for DBAs
The increasing amount of data being generated and stored, as well as the growing complexity and diversity of data sources and formats, means that organisations will continue to need experts who can manage and optimise the performance, security and availability of their databases.
As more and more organisations adopt cloud databases, there will be a growing demand for DBAs with expertise in cloud-specific services and tools. These DBAs will be responsible for managing and maintaining databases in a cloud environment and ensuring that they are fully utilising the capabilities of the cloud platform.
As the cloud technology and services are evolving rapidly, it’s important for DBAs with cloud databases to stay current with new features and services offered by the cloud providers and to adapt to new best practices and technologies that emerge.
4C Group provides a variety of database administration and management services. Our team of highly skilled DBAs is committed to helping enterprises in Africa build an effective and reliable database infrastructure. With our expertise in cloud specific requirements, we offer on-site, cloud, or hybrid database administration services that are tailored to your business needs and backed by 24/7 support from our knowledgeable professionals. For more information, please contact us today.
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At 4C Group of Companies, we strive to effect operational changes and cost savings for customers through our iNSight product and associated services. This product’s main function is to re-purpose and deliver business-critical information to a variety of systems and stakeholders.
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