DBAs can recover a database, tune SQL, and may even know how to write some PL/SQL when push comes to shove. And, yes, those are all great skills to have. But in 2018, DBAs need more, writes Matt Malcheski in a new IOUG SELECT article. Malcheski goes over the “hot topics,” including blockchain, AI, and Internet of Things, and notes that DBAs of the future will need to understand not only the technical aspects of these and the other technologies but also must be able understand and add value to the functional data requirements necessary for all-encompassing solutions. "This is characterized in a data point from Gartner: By 2021, 40% of IT staff will be 'versatilists' holding multiple roles, most of which will be business rather than technology related."