September 25, 2009, 12:57 PM — Tightened budgetary controls have shone a spotlight on the increased costs and waste resulting from ineffective data management. A study carried out by Experian QAS titled "The Hidden Costs of Poor Data Management," found that companies across the globe are losing, on average, 6 percent of their revenue due to poorly managed data, and U.S. companies losing an average of 7.3 percent. Not only does this hinder financial flexibility, but also the ability to operate effectively and productively.
What's the Problem?
DBAs have historically played an important role in the management of data but have steadily become less involved in data-oriented activities, and instead spend most of their time managing database infrastructure. This has been a natural side effect from the explosion in data. DBAs are highly leveraged resources and their role has become focused on the strict essentials: keeping the databases up and ensuring recoverability, security and performance.
The increased need for data-related skills has led to a growing data management gap, which developers are often called to fill. Indeed, developers are particularly suited to fulfill this need as they are closest to the code and to the application and business requirements. The average developer, however, does not typically undergo the same rigorous training in relational theory, structured query language (SQL), database structures, and data movement and transformation as does a DBA, data modeler, or data architect.
If indeed developers are assuming a greater responsibility for data, then it is important for organizations to understand what developers need in order to be effective in this expanded role. An important facet of this role shift pertains to communication between the DBA and developer, including the ability for the DBA to gain ready visibility into what the developers are working on, so that they can intervene as needed to provide guidance.
How Software Tools Can Help
Information systems play a more important role than ever before, so it is critical that the lines of communication between DBAs and developers, as well as with data modelers and architects be open and clear.
What needs to be communicated when working with data that is technically rich and complex? Consider issues such as structure, sensitivity, ownership, quality, accuracy and performance characteristics. It is not enough to merely converse about these topics. Rather they must be clearly and precisely documented. This is where tools can help. Software tools specializing in managing data and databases can, when used by developers, DBAs, and data modelers and architects, serve as a language to facilitate and normalize project communication.
Tools can help organizations bridge the data gap in three ways: by growing developers' capacity and self sufficiently with data; by helping DBAs become more effective in their own roles—freeing them up to re-assume some of their more traditional data management roles; and perhaps most importantly, by serving as the glue to sync DBAs and developers more closely and facilitating workflow across projects. Tools can serve as a key mitigation factor because they can not only document and report on complex systems, but they can also help uncover patterns and issues that would otherwise be difficult to detect.
Choosing the Right Tools
If software tools can serve as the glue to help sync DBAs and developers more closely, it is important to understand what options are available, and to select options that cover both the needs of the DBA and the developer. Consider these tips.
- Databases are highly complex, and evolve rapidly. It is important that the tools a business chooses support the latest versions, but also the older versions that are almost always found in enterprises. A good tool will understand the syntactic and feature differences between, for example, Oracle 9i, 10G, and 11G; or SQL Server 2000, 2005, and 2008, and make use of those features as the need arises.
- A tools vendor should have a strong track record, and provide a broad-based solution that is mature and robust.
- Multi-vendor solutions are certainly to be found, but there are many benefits to consolidating around a single vendor whose solution stack meets most or all of one’s requirements. Single-vendor solutions provide economies of scale, and are generally easier to purchase.
The challenge of making the right tool selection is defined by two driving forces: ease of access to the right tools, and the richness in the functional capability of the tool to productively and efficiently support the right roles. In essence this translates to a tooling and licensing model that allows access to the right tools at the right time without a great deal of administrative overhead.
Conclusion
The right data and database tools can not only be a great productivity aid, and play a role in assuring quality, but the tools themselves can become an important vehicle for normalizing communication between DBAs, developers, data modelers and data architects. By providing developers with the tools they need to carry out their data-related duties, businesses can realize substantial and enduring gains in the form of project quality, time to market, productivity and job satisfaction.
Philip Rathle, Director of Product Management, Embarcadero Technologies
