DBAs struggle with diversity of databases

Nearly 75% have to handle at least two platforms

The days when DBAs had to manage just one platform are long gone. According to a new survey, nearly three-quarters of DBAs have to look after at least two types of database with many managing a lot more - 14 percent of DBAs have to juggle five or more.

The Database Trends Survey found that 72 percent of DBAs looked after two platforms, with Microsoft SQL Server at 62 percent and Oracle at 60 percent as the two most popular, Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise with 35 percent was third.

To make things even more confusing, many of these DBAs are working with different versions of the same product - 69 percent manage more than one version and 51 percent have to work with three or more different takes on the database.

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The days when DBAs had to manage just one platform are long gone. According to a new survey, nearly three-quarters of DBAs have to look after at least two types of database with many managing a lot more - 14 percent of DBAs have to juggle five or more.

The Database Trends Survey found that 72 percent of DBAs looked after two platforms, with Microsoft SQL Server at 62 percent and Oracle at 60 percent as the two most popular, Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise with 35 percent was third.

To make things even more confusing, many of these DBAs are working with different versions of the same product - 69 percent manage more than one version and 51 percent have to work with three or more different takes on the database.

In many cases, the multitude of different platforms has been created by the rising amount of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. Forty-three percent of respondents said that their need to keep tabs on a variety of platforms was because of a merger some time in the past five years.

The diversity of databases has driven the need for cross-platform management said Scott Walz, senior director of product management for Embarcadero

"Each database platform and version has its own features and functionality, and keeping them all straight can be a monumental task for DBAs. Multi-platform database management is becoming more commonplace, but that doesn't mean it's getting less complicated," Walz added.