Latest Delphix Blog Post and Upcoming Webinars

In my latest blog post on the Delphix site, I continue my conversation with why DevOps is the next step for DBAs and how DBAs can embrace this next step in their evolution.

This is an extensive series of blog posts, (four so far) to be followed by an ebook, a podcast and two webinars.  One is to be announced soon from Oracle called, “The DBA Diaries” and the other will be a from Delphix, titled, “The Revolution:  From Databases and DevOps to DataOps“.

The goal for all of this is to ease transition for the Database community as the brutal shift to the cloud, now underway, changes our day to day lives.  Development continues to move at an ever accelerating pace and yet the DBA is standing still, waiting for the data to catch up with it all.  This is a concept that many refer to as “data gravity“.

The concept was first coined just a few years ago by a Senior VP Platform Engineer, Dave McCrory.  It was an open discussion aimed at understanding how data impacted the way technology changed when connected with network, software and compute.

He discusses the basic understanding that there’s a limit in “the speed with which information can get from memory (where data is stored) to computing (where data is acted upon) is the limiting factor in computing speed.” called the Von Newmann Bottleneck.

These are essential concepts that I believe all DBAs and Developers should understand, as data gravity impacts all of us.  Its the reason for many enhancements to database, network and compute power.  Its the reason optimization specialists are in such demand.  Other roles such as backup, monitoring and error handling can be automated, but the more that we drive logic into programs, nothing is as good as true skill in optimization when it comes to eliminating much of data gravity issues.  Less data, less weight-  it’s as simple as that.

We all know the cloud discussions are coming, and with that, even bigger challenges are felt by the gravity from data.  Until then, let’s just take a step back and recognize that we need some new goals and some new skills.  If you’re like to learn more about data gravity, but don’t have time to take it all in at once, consider following it on Twitter, which is curated by Dave McCrory.

I’m off to Jacksonville, Fl. tomorrow to speak at SQL Saturday #649!