The Cloud Database Administrator—Tech success at scale
As a database administrator (DBA), I’ve always known what the role involved. Developers swing by my desk requesting a new database, a data refresh, or help with challenges they’re facing. They sometimes get frustrated with me when their database or data isn’t ready, even if it’s really the server admin who hasn’t allocated the storage or provisioned the new server yet. My manager might come by and ask what I’m doing and, after I try to describe the technical process I’m working on, walk away with a puzzled look on his face. When others ask what I do all day, the developers respond that DBA stands for “Don’t Bother Asking.”
This was my life, but it wasn’t always satisfying. It was days of backups, database refreshes, after-hours database outages, and weekend patching. Once, this was what gave me value and my day meaning until one day I asked myself, “Is this all there is?” I had years of database administration, automation, and scripting experience. I was highly detail-oriented and cared about the success of my team. What was next?
Is all that daily slog the best use of your skills?
In a word, cloud. Maybe you too have watched your peers working in the cloud with envy, and you’ve not found a simple roadmap to help you achieve what they’re already accomplishing. Or perhaps your company is getting serious about a transition to the cloud, and you’re curious or a tad anxious about what that means for your role.
Whatever the reason, you’re wondering how to break out of the daily DBA grind and join this cloud community and of course you’re thinking about risk. (We DBAs are a bit risk averse.) Risk could mean data loss, and since DBAs are only as good as their last database recovery, we tend to play it safer than the developers around us.
On the other hand, those working with data in the cloud are learning new technology, branching out to enhance their technical chops, and adding new skills to their resume like Azure, JSON, machine learning, Linux and Linux scripting, DevOps, analytics, and artificial intelligence. How do you get in on all this?
Fortunately, help is here. Today my Microsoft peers are launching a trio of free resources to help DBAs like us navigate the transition to cloud. Get to know how you’ll be managing data in the cloud, the tasks you’ll be able to let go of with the help of cloud automation, and the more strategic responsibilities you’ll get to take on. These resources include:
- The essential guide to data in the cloud: A handbook for DBAs: This is the ultimate resource for everything you might need in a transition to the cloud, from migration and optimization to managing costs and innovating with connected cloud services.
- Five steps to jump-start your cloud DBA journey: What can you do right now to get ready for the cloud? Here’s a cheat sheet of everything you can tackle today.
- Cloud database migration essentials: Once you’re ready for a deeper dive on migrating your data, this is the e-book for you.
As a DBA, you’re in charge of one of your company’s most important assets—its data. You’re the gatekeeper, the protector, and the database whisperer, but is all that daily slog the best use of your skills? Managing your data in the cloud isn’t that different from managing it on-premises using the same tools, but in a new way, along with new tools and capabilities to take you to the next level in your DBA career. You’ll have less tedious tasks and vast new cloud capabilities to master, as well as the ability to do your job at a scale you’ve only imagined.
Ready to do more, be more? I’ll be presenting on these very topics in a free webinar—sign up today.
