It has been a while since my last post, and for that I apologize. Things have been hectic…dare I say it…crazy? My mind is spinning with everything that I have been diving into.
Right now my focus is on the section of tools that are labeled as “BI”. I see the evolution of database administration into this layer, separate from the nuts and bolts of performance. Essentially, over time, there will be your DBA who can keep the servers humming along and then there will be the DBA that can talk with developers and/or the end users in order to help design better systems. That is where I hope to head with my career. I want to be able to teach people how to help themselves and in order to do that I need to venture into this BI arena.
Now, call me crazy, but the BI arena is vast. With the new 2005 environment there are more tools to use than anyone could imagine. I have found it quite frustrating in my attempts to use some tools only to find out that I do not have the right “flavor” of Visual Studio. And I am not the only one with issues. On more than one occasion I have been approached by someone complaining that SQL Server Management Studio is not able to do what they need. Well, unless they need to manage an instance of SQL Server (and they do not), then I try to explain that it is not a tool for development, or for BI.
So, why is it that people continue to think that SSMS is what they need in order to build a better mousetrap? Are these the same people that demand to have Enterprise Manager installed so that they can interact with previous instances of MS SQL Server? How many articles need to be written about development best practices before people will start to listen? EM and SSMS are NOT development tools. I cannot change that for you. If you need to build an SSIS package, then you need to get the BI tools. You want to build a report? BI Tools.
And that is why I feel it is important for us DBA folk to get involved with these tools. We should be the resident experts with the entire toolbox available in order to facilitate development. And if we know a thing or two about the business itself, we can even help build a better mousetrap.
