Robert Davis discusses shipping database changes and the role of the DBA:
I don’t know what percentage of people out there are doing DevOps, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it is most likely some number LESS than MOST of them. I don’t think more than half the companies or people out there that do Ops are doing DevOps. I also believe that DBAs that make really good money aren’t making it because DBAs are rare. They are making it because DBA is a tough job to be really good at and the ones who are really good at it are rare. All DBAs are molded by the environments they work in, but really good DBAs are ones that eventually learn to mold their environments to them.
A normal DBA may say something like, “I do it this way because that is the way it is done here.”
An exceptional DBA says, “We do it that way here because that is the way I have it done.”
Robert makes great points. I have on my agenda to write a post entitled something like “The Cloud’s Not Going To Steal Our Jobs,” somewhat in the same spirit as this post. Definitely a must-read.