DBTA E-EDITION
February 2024
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Trends and Applications
The momentous transformation putting data managers and their systems at the helm of modern enterprises has only begun. Industry leaders and experts agree that it's critical for data managers and team leaders to design today's data architectures to meet the demands of a digital economy, from cloud to real-time streaming to AI.
Much like organizations in every sector, federal government agencies run on data. The universal challenge of dealing with massive amounts of data every day, while leveraging the right data at the right time, is also very much front and center for government agencies. Amid the growth of computing platforms, mobile devices, and cloud environments, government agencies have steadily added new systems and capabilities, but they've often integrated those systems on an ad hoc basis—as point solutions to address specific needs.
Both operational and generative AI depend on distilling reliable data sources. A new survey, however, finds they are being overwhelmed by data sources and providing the data needed to deliver insights. In a survey of 600 chief data officers and data professionals released by Informatica, 41% admit they're juggling 1,000 or more data sources. A number, 79%, expect to increase in 2024.
Public cloud has skyrocketed to become the indisputable go-to destination for new IT workloads, especially for data. And while the cloud is full of advantages over on-premises data platforms, cost optimization rarely makes that list. Since modern data professionals' roles encompass building and maintaining this platform, they should also be aware of how to objectively reduce the data platform costs to eliminate this enormous, missed business opportunity.
Columns - Database Elaborations
In far too many organizations, processes become automatic. Requests are made, and requests are fulfilled. People wish to please; they like to show how fast they can respond or how agile they are. The same is true when addressing database design. This delivery-focused desire comes from a good place. However, regardless of how well-intended, blindly fulfilling requests is dangerous and harmful to one's overall results. Optimization of processes, especially processes involving database design, should never remove the step where questions are asked and rationale is provided.
Columns - DBA Corner
Before talking about its impact, it makes sense to first define what is meant by the term "regulatory compliance." There are two components: regulatory and compliance. Regulatory refers to regulations, which are governmental, and business rules and laws. Regulations may exist for specific industries, countries, jurisdictions, and practices. Compliance refers to following the directives of the regulations as they apply to your business operations.
Columns - Emerging Technologies
The remarkable and rapid uptake of ChatGPT and similar large language model (LLM)-based AIs may be driving the biggest increase in demand for computing power since the advent of the internet. The neural networks that power LLM AI solutions, such as ChatGPT, rely on massively parallel processing. This processing is similar in some respects to the massively parallel graphics processing that was demanded in the past by computer games.
MV Community
The past year saw AI go from a pipe dream to a reality. Businesses are rushing to do what they can to integrate automation into their systems and offer their own AI technology, leading to increased security, tapping into the cloud, and more. As 2024 begins, DBTA presents the annual MultiValue Special Report and asks MV executives to address several questions.
RDM Infinity, one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Rocky Mountain region, announced that industry veteran Tim Rude will join its team of MultiValue developers to help attract emerging MV developer talent. "Tim doesn't just know MultiValue software—he helped bring it to where it is today," said Brandon Robinson, head geek at RDM Infinity. "He has years of hands-on, behind-the-scenes experience as one of the chief developers behind the most important tools in our industry. And our growing team will see the benefits."