DBTA 100 2026: The Companies That Matter Most in Data

The big data and analytics space has been shaken up by the increasing pressure to integrate AI into the business or be left behind. However, diving headfirst without guardrails can be a high-stakes introduction to AI. To help bring new resources and innovation to light, each year, Database Trends and Applications magazine showcases the DBTA 100, a list of forward-thinking companies seeking to expand what's possible with data for their customers. Spanning the wide range of established legacy technologies, from MultiValue to cutting-edge breakthroughs such as AI, semantic layers, data lakehouses, data mesh, and data fabric, the DBTA 100 is a list of hardware, software, and service providers working to enable their customers' data-driven future. Read More

The Most Dangerous Phrase in Database Management: ‘It’s Just Data'

In the world of database management, there are a handful of phrases that make experienced DBAs uneasy. Statements such as "we'll fix it in production" or "the database can handle it" usually signal that trouble is coming. But there is another phrase that may be even more dangerous: "It's just data." Read More

Game-Changing Technologies Fueling The Data-Driven Enterprise In 2026

What technologies for the data-driven era are emerging now? As you might guess, much of the activity seen across the market is connected to AI. At the same time, there is a critical data element that needs both to support AI implementations, as well as be supported by AI. DBTA queried industry leaders to get their views on the most compelling technologies now emerging in this data-driven era. Read More

Sponsored Content: AI Agents are Querying Your Document Data, Here’s What They Can See

We hear a lot about AI's benefits to productivity for data teams, but less about the potential risks. The moment the problem becomes real usually looks something like this: an engineer connects an AI assistant to a NoSQL database, such as MongoDB, through an MCP server or a similar tool-calling interface. At the time, they consider it safe to grant the AI direct authentication with their own credentials instead of using best practices such as delegated authorization. It takes twenty minutes. The agent can now query live data, return results, and feed them into whatever workflow it's part of. Nobody updates the access policy, scopes the authorization down, or asks what the agent can actually reach. Read More

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Columnists

Database Elaborations

Todd Schraml

Language is Always Hard Words such as "taxonomy" and "ontology" are often thrown around by data architects as if these terms were interchangeable. Generically, the ideas of taxonomy and ontology are similar, but not synonymous.

DBA Corner

Craig S. Mullins

The Most Dangerous Phrase in Database Management: ‘It’s Just Data' In the world of database management, there are a handful of phrases that make experienced DBAs uneasy. Statements such as "we'll fix it in production" or "the database can handle it" usually signal that trouble is coming. But there is another phrase that may be even more dangerous: "It's just data."

SQL Server Drill Down

Kevin Kline

More Than Hype: How DBAs Can Ensure AI Adds Real Value According to recent data from the SolarWinds "State of Monitoring and Observability Report," 51% of IT pros believe database performance would benefit from better observability. Oftentimes, database observability suffers because teams have multiple, disparate observability and monitoring tools. This tool sprawl creates blind spots that make it harder to identify and react to database performance issues.

Emerging Technologies

On Assignment: Inside Recruitment Databases—How Candidates Get Found (or Missed) As part of my On Assignment LinkedIn article series, I've continued to explore what candidates rarely see: the inner workings of recruitment databases and how recruiters actually use them in real time. This assignment took me deeper into a critical but often overlooked part of the hiring ecosystem: how resumes are categorized, stored, and retrieved and how small details can dramatically impact whether a candidate is ever seen.

Next-Gen Data Management

Will AI Become Our Friend or Foe? Technology Professionals Weigh In. Picture this: there's a new face in the IT department, ready to step in to help tackle the increasingly complex challenges caused by modern hybrid on-prem and multi-cloud environments. Overstretched technology teams always appreciate an extra set of helping hands, but what happens when this new team member isn't human—but artificial intelligence (AI)?