{"id":26800,"date":"2019-03-25T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/sql-server\/blog\/?p=26800"},"modified":"2024-01-29T12:03:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T20:03:58","slug":"the-cloud-database-administrator-tech-success-at-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/sql-server\/blog\/2019\/03\/25\/the-cloud-database-administrator-tech-success-at-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cloud Database Administrator\u2014Tech success at scale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a database administrator (DBA), I\u2019ve always known what the role involved. Developers swing by my desk requesting a new database, a data refresh, or help with challenges they\u2019re facing. They sometimes get frustrated with me when their database or data isn\u2019t ready, even if it\u2019s really the server admin who hasn\u2019t allocated the storage or provisioned the new server yet. My manager might come by and ask what I\u2019m doing and, after I try to describe the technical process I\u2019m 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 \u201cDon\u2019t Bother Asking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was my life, but it wasn\u2019t 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, \u201cIs this all there is?\u201d 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is all that daily slog the best use of your skills?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In a word, cloud. Maybe you too have watched your peers working in the cloud with envy, and you\u2019ve not found a simple roadmap to help you achieve what they\u2019re already accomplishing. Or perhaps your company is getting serious about a transition to the cloud, and you\u2019re curious or a tad anxious about what that means for your role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the reason, you\u2019re wondering how to break out of the daily DBA grind and join this cloud community and of course you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019ll be managing data in the cloud, the tasks you\u2019ll be able to let go of with the help of cloud automation, and the more strategic responsibilities you\u2019ll get to take on. These resources include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n