While the concept, possibilities, and underlying technology of “Big Data” are somewhat new, the raw data behind it is still entirely dependent on an established technology with well-defined best practices: the database.
The routine requirements of database management will remain indefinitely, which raises some questions for your database management strategy and how you choose to structure the changing workload.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows big data
landscape?Technical Brief
2. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?The (Data) World Isnt Flat, After AllBy now many of us
have heard the term Big Data and have probably seen a tweet,
article, or blogpost about it. However, as business needs grow, its
becoming more apparent that data is no longerjust about managing
volume and availability of information, or how it should be
stored.Data isnt just growing. Its taking on new life, becoming
more than static financials, inventorysnapshots, HR records, or
purchasing activity. Data is becoming multidimensional
andinterconnecteda strategic business asset in its own rightcapable
of driving revenue and gleaningefficiencies that might not have
been previously apparent. And the appetite for strategic
informationwill continue to increase across virtually all business
functions, causing Big Data to become a worldall its own.According
to a February 2012 Gartner report:In addition to volume, the most
difficult information management issues arise from thesimultaneous
and persistent interaction of extreme volume with a variety of data
formats,velocity of record creation and variable latencies, and the
complexity of individual datatypes within formats. To elaborate
further: $ 3.141591
3. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape? Velocity involves streams of data, structured record
creation, and availability foraccess and delivery. Velocity means
both how fast data is being produced, andhow fast the data must be
processed to meet demand. Variety includes structured data,
hierarchical data, documents, email, meteringdata, video, images,
audio, stock ticker data, financial transactions the list goeson.
Complexity means that different standards, domain rules and storage
formats canexist with each asset type.Can your current database
technology ramp up for tomorrows strategic, Big Data demands driven
byexecutive initiatives focused on revenue and savings? For
example, could the CMO down the hallsoon be interested in knowing
(with even more granularity): What are your customers up to and
why? After all, according to Forbes, 50 billion devicesand their
end-userswill be connected to the Internet by the end of the
decade. Point-of-Sale (POS) hardware and now even some vending
machines are collecting data. What is influencing your customers
purchasing decisions? What are their hot buttons? Whatprompts them
to make a purchase? How long is the decision-making cycle to make
thatpurchaseprecisely, and not just anecdotally? How can the
company be more effective in continuing the customer relationship
andencouraging future purchases based on past buying behavior? What
are your customers and prospects seeking and how are they
researching it? How can we use our customer activity to look for
new markets and new (unexpected)opportunities? Will entering a new
market cannibalize another business unit and negatively impact
relatedfinancials, i.e., how can we avoid raising any red flags for
the CFO?2
4. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape? How have operational changes (e.g., data from other
silos, such as helpdesk metrics,shipping vendors, quality controls,
etc.) impacted our ability to deliver our products orservices? And
has that affected customer satisfaction?As you can imagine, similar
cross-silo strategic information will likely be requested by COOs
andCFOs regarding efficiencies, compensation, processes, supply
chain management, organizationalinfrastructure, and financial
reporting demands.And while the concept, possibilities, and
underlying technology of Big Data are somewhat new, theraw data
behind it is still entirely dependent on an established technology
with well-defined bestpractices: the database.The routine
requirements of database management will remain indefinitely, which
raises somequestions for your database management strategy and how
you choose to structure the changingworkload: Is our current
database management function elastic enough to handle routine
taskswhile preparing a future-ready framework? How much will it
cost to employ the full-time employees necessary to meet both
todayand tomorrows needs? What are forecasts saying about the level
of difficulty and amount of time that I will haveto invest to find
the right talent for the changing workload? Could our data
management strategy use some fresh, external perspectives? Or
shouldwe consider freeing up our internal IT thinkers from routine
tasks to prepare for Big Datademands?3
5. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?Data Management in the World of BIG DataFreeing up your
IT thinkersIn preparation for Big Data demands, your internal
experts could likely be, among other things: Exploring storage
architecture requirements Optimizing back-up and recovery
capabilities, application by application Quantifying the amount of
data you currently have Determining the datas owner(s), location,
and history Examining connections between different types of data
Evaluating and implementing Big Data products, such as analytical
tools and data handlingsoftware Studying impacts to virtualized
applicationsor determining if your environment should bemore
aggressively virtualized for better computing efficiencies Learning
how to process unstructured data, such as social media activity
Updating your WAN to handle greater volumes of data4
6. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?Amping Up Internal SLA MetricsAvailability of data will
be a key indicator of an IT organizations performance. As data
grows andbecomes necessary for decision making, planning, and
day-to-day operations, your internal SLAs willlikely need to become
more aggressive to keep pace. For example: Granular file-level
recovery and frequency of backups Extended hours for monitoring of
systems Faster time-to-respond (TTR) Lower mean-time-to-resolution
(MTTR)All the while, maintaining business-as-usual (BAU) operations
(behind the scenes to end-users)continues, including fine-tuning of
applications, testing, production, and implementation of
newsoftware features.Managing Change with Elasticity and
ScalabilityStaying ahead of new and BAU data demands doesnt have to
be a juggling act. IT leadership can gobeyond a traditional
staffing mindset in order to right-source the management of a
precious businessassetyour companys data.Whether youre looking for
fresh perspectives and an updated outlook, or to free up your staff
to focusmore on strategy and planning, the right blend of external
resources can help make your Big Dataapproach go smoothly.5
7. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?Selecting On-Demand DBA Resources as Part of YourBig Data
StrategyAsking the Tough QuestionsWhen most people think about
strategic information, they dont normally associate the
underlyingdatabase technology with anytime-availability of the data
that they need (e.g., SLAs, configuration,best practices,
administration, scalability). End-users and C-levels alike expect
their businessintelligence to be quickly accessible without having
to worrynow more than ever. So, how do youhelp to ensure 24x7
access to your companys data, as part of your plan for high
availability of anever-growing volume of data?Well-defined
roles,practices,
andproceduresCustomSLAs,ExtendedAvailabilitySeniorExperts6
8. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape? A trusted resource who knows your operations inside and
out when database changes arerequired A senior-level, dedicated DBA
team to call, no matter what time it is, when something goeswrongIn
order to source the above resources, its necessary to ask some
pretty tough questions related tothree key areas, as outlined
below. The providers answers will be a strong indicator of the
quality ofservice you can expect to receive.Dedicated, Senior
ExpertsYou need on-demand access to proven database experts to
balance strategic initiatives and ongoingdatabase challenges. Will
the provider: Provide a dedicated team of DBA experts who are
assigned to your organization? Disclose the average number of years
experience of all team members? Offer the assigned team and back-up
resources on a fixed-fee basis?Custom SLAs and Extended
AvailabilityYou need direct, anytime-access to skilled DBA
resources to manage your database environmentswhether its to
troubleshoot an issue or to accommodate off-hours testing. And
those needs vary byindustry, region, and many other factors, which
makes customizable SLAs crucial.For example, a retail company might
require on-demand, 24x7 support during holiday peak months.A public
accounting firm might need intensive support January through April,
through tax season.Alternatively, a manufacturer might need extra
support during the implementation of an inventorytracking database
during production hours to help ensure accuracy. In other words,
your providershould be available when your lights are on or your
needs spike. Ask your provider to define:7
9. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape? Standard service levels Options for custom service
levels Severity levels by incident type Lights-on and lights-off
support hours, along with response times Escalation procedures
Back-up and recovery service levels The level of monitoring
offeredWell-Defined Roles, Practices, and ProceduresDesigning a
detailed scope of work (SOW), process flows, best practices, daily
maintenance, andagreed-upon procedures based on your database
challenges is imperative. Your provider shouldthoroughly describe
the following areas as part of planning your assessment and
support.Lifecycle ManagementTechnical AssessmentWill the provider
perform a comprehensive audit of your environment? This audit will
include theassessment and documentation of: System architecture
Software configurations and release levels Maintenance operations
Proposed remediation plan (for best practices tuning and/or
enhancements)Space ManagementWill your provider manage any space
issues specific to your requirements? This will include
thefollowing:8
10. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape? Tables Indexes Logs FreespaceSystem Updates and New
InstallationsWill your provider address the following:
Installations Security patches Software updateso Patcho Version
upgradesData Management (Backup and Recovery)Will your provider
assist in backing up and recovering your database in accordance
with definedSLAs, as discussed above. This includes: Database
backupso Simpleo Bulk loggingo Full Complete recovery Incomplete
recoveryo Point-in-timeo Transaction-based9
11. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?Monitoring and Performance ManagementYour provider should
create a comprehensive monitoring and performance management plan,
as wellas identify and manage performance tuning opportunities,
including, but not limited to: Long-running application requests
Tuning memory usage Tuning database data storage Lock contention
Sorting Validating table structures, as necessary Identity top
database resource consumers Database options, including Big Data
technologiesConfiguration ManagementYour provider should maintain
and administer all database administration aspects of your
environmentincluding: Security maintenance User ID and role
maintenance Data file maintenance Log file maintenance Integrity
checks Statistics maintenance Index maintenance Table maintenance
Stored procedure maintenance Scheduled job maintenance10
12. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?Database Administration ServicesSupport Management
TroubleshootingYour provider should assist in advanced
troubleshooting, working closely with you to identify andresolve
any system issues. The provider should also help to coordinate
communication of problemsand incidents to your database software
vendor. This could include the following activities: Problem and
incident management Root cause analysis (RCA) documentation
Proactive bug alerts Problem analysis supportProject ServicesYour
provider should operate with an elastic support model in order to
assist with project work forspecialized needs, large or small,
which are typically impossible to predict. From server
consolidationto distributed databases, and everything in between,
behind-the-scenes support as your Big Dataapproach evolves will
help position you as the business intelligence hero for your
organization. Afterall, your organizations specific definition of
Big Data depends on: The current capacity of your environment The
size of the data sets that need to be managed The real business
applications of the data and how they relate to the goals of
yourorganization, e.g., strategic decision making, revenue-driving
initiatives Expectations of heavy consumers of informationThere is
a lot to consider when it comes to your new data management
strategies and maintenance.Right-sourcing ensures you are prepared
to help manage growing database demands, have accessto the right
Big Data technology, and equipped to head-off unexpected
challenges.11
13. Can on-demand DBAs position you for tomorrows Big Data
landscape?About ManageForce Corporation:Were here to help. With
deep business and technical expertise, sound financials, and
strongbusiness ethics, ManageForce has leveraged our deep
experience in supporting the worlds mostdemanding database needs to
develop leading Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, and MySQL
supportservices.ManageForce helps organizations worldwide,
including Fortune 500, public sector, and SMB, to plan,implement,
and manage their databases via a cost-effective, proven global
delivery model. Ourexperience and expertise as a leading database
administration organization can help you achievemeasurable
resultsand maximum performancefrom your database.Areas of
ExpertiseDatabases Platforms Services Oracle Microsoft SQL Server
IBM DB2 MySQL Hadoop AS400/iSeries Windows UNIX Linux Production
Support Reporting & BI Cloud Computing Big Data Disaster
Recovery12Copyright 2012 ManageForce Corporation. All Rights
Reserved. 111912