DBTA E-EDITION
June 2021

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Trends and Applications

We're still at the start of the 2020s, and already, things look very different from the preceding decade. For data executives and profession­als, the years ahead may mean change on a scale never seen before in the IT industry. Promising new technologies—as well as redesigned and repurposed older ones—are reshaping the data center and analytics shops in new and exciting ways. We asked industry leaders for their views on what is enhancing the ability of enterprises to compete on data.

AIOps is the application of machine learning (ML) methods to sift through incoming data and identify the critical information allowing for more effective management of IT Operations. In many cases, AIOps can identify a problem before it impacts the end users of the application. This is especially important for revenue-generating applications.

Data onboarding is a crucial but painstaking process that holds back individual companies and entire industries from reaching their full potential. The last thing a company wants is to lose a client over frustration due to data migration. A new survey of 5,000 managers and executives—many from outside IT departments—conducted by Flatfile has found that more than three-quarters of respondents either "sometimes or often" run into problems onboarding data.

With cloud-based enterprise software becoming the norm, set against a back­drop of businesses having to adapt their processes and operations in a highly volatile economic environment, Kuber­netes-supported software deployments are a perfect fit. Those C-level executives responsible for business change and devel­opment should not ignore the power of Kubernetes and its ability to ensure their business has the digital foundation to adapt in a safe, secure, and efficient man­ner for years to come. 


Columns - Database Elaborations

Inside a relational database management system, the princi­pal persisted data structure is considered a logical relation. Operations performed against that data within the RDBMS result in a logical relation too. In other words, everything is a table. To step away a little from the term "table," let's use the word "grid."


Columns - DBA Corner

With new "data models" and types of database systems purported to be better than relational, it seems that the industry is all too ready to stick a fork in relational. So, is relational technology outdated? There are all sorts of pretenders to the throne for data management including Hadoop, XML, and the various types of NoSQL database products. But why? Are there truly any shortcomings in the relational way that require its wholesale replacement?


Columns - Quest IOUG Database & Technology Insights

Oracle has a history of delivering the data management solu­tions of choice for managing customers' operational and ana­lytical workloads on-prem and in the cloud. Oracle's strategy is to continue delivering unique and innovative products and services to meet and exceed customers' requirements. At the recent INSYNC 21 virtual conference, Jenny Tsai-Smith, vice president of database prod­uct management at Oracle, presented a keynote on Oracle's data management strategy.


Columns - SQL Server Drill Down

Due to my background working with other major database platforms such as Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, I've long been an advocate for the SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA). This powerful and easy product can quickly and effectively migrate most popular relational database platforms into SQL Server. The migration process using SSMA usually results in a 80/20 or 90/10 migration, in which 80%-90% of the database objects migrate without an issue. But 10%-20% typically requires additional hand-hold­ing and manual migration work.


Columns - Next-Gen Data Management

Traditional DBAs who have spent a lot of time with all the nerd knobs at their disposal need to think more about the movement of data. Instead of thinking in terms of data administration—and running the risk of becoming redundant—they should become more familiar with how data moves in and out of their enterprises.


Columns - Emerging Technologies

Whatever you think about NFTs, the increase in load on the Ethereum network has created another scalability crisis. Ethereum transaction fees are going through the roof, and delays on the network are increasing. If Ethereum is going to compete successfully against up-and-coming alternative chains such as Hedera Hashgraph, something has to be done to improve the throughput of the network. Luckily, we are on the verge of several big paradigm shifts in Ethereum with ETH 2.0, which may pave the way for greater throughput.

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