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Puzzling through the maze of a database

Tino Dudink 9-9-2021 15:52
Categorieën: Blog, Multi-platform

Tino Dudink is one of our DBA Consultants and Senior Database Reliability Engineers. Earlier we looked into Tino's backpack. In this blog, Tino tells us how it is possible that after 25 years he still enjoys plodding through the depths of the database world.

Dissect and improve

One of the best things about working as a Database Reliability Engineer is dissecting and improving a database environment. I get to work with many different customers who are working with a business-critical system. That could be an accounting package, an ERP system or a CMS of a large website. Often the package has been running for a while and the company has become dependent on the system. That is not to say that people are always entirely happy with it, but you have to make do with what you have. If we take care of the database management, we are like a doctor taking the temperature every month. What is the situation with the environment? Do I see bottlenecks that I can pick up before they really start to hurt? Making the environment more secure against the increasingly complex challenges of cloud integration is also a frequent theme. Think about the usefulness and necessity of existing database permissions, protecting customer data and securing backups. Very valuable work.

Life buoy

Besides being a doctor, as a DBA you are often a life buoy. We have a kind of hotline (0353690304), and it regularly happens that someone hangs up on the line in panic. Then their own DBA is sick or on vacation or they just don't know anymore for some other reason. We then jump in and in 99 out of 100 cases we can help the organization out of the fire. It's very rewarding work and it demonstrates our expertise in a great way. We are not afraid of complex problems, on the contrary, we dive in with love and provide a solution.

Dynamics

Our field never stands still and the importance of data is increasing. Data is the new gold, we hear it more and more. It sounds popular, of course, but there is some truth in it. Databases are now so crucial to IT applications that even the largest organizations would be nowhere without a well-organized database. The fact that we contribute to this makes our work interesting, every day. We're not here to sell nice reports, we're really on the front line. That performance pressure is quite addictive.

Increasing complexity

We are enormously dependent on technology today. Digitalization goes on and on, and there is a downside to that. Due to the increasing complexity and further intertwining of processes, all sorts of things can go wrong. There are still many steps to be taken. Data governance is becoming increasingly important, but having a good backup strategy is also crucial. We come across it every day: organizations that think they have organised their backups well, while in practice they turn out to be unusable. But if you become the victim of a ransomware attack, having a good backup is your salvation. If you can contribute to that, it is very valuable.

Fascinating

All these aspects mean that I have been 'poking around' in the depths of the database world with great pleasure for more than 25 years. It's an enormously fascinating field and a lively one, and I could have fun here for a while yet.

Curious?

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