Cloud Computing and the DBA

I have been told before that my head was in the clouds
when normal could not count the baud...
rate in my communication technique
and YES, cloud computing makes me scream EEK!

OK - I may never make it as a poet so I guess I am glad for the talents blessed upon me that I have honed into a successful career.

For years, we have put off, side-stepped, shoo-shooed, and managed to not give in to SaaS (Software as a Service).  However, with our 5 year HRIS disaster, we had to make some choices and the three major companies we looked at only offered HRIS and Recruitment as a SaaS / Web Portal Service.

Let me say, from an end user perspective,Cloud Computing was a fabulous choice.  The HR department is happy because they are actually getting applications and have a management software that works, our applicants are happy because the application process works, and I am happy because I don't spend an hour or more a day babysitting and massaging a server or a database.

But with every little bit of magic comes a price and that price, for a Database Administrator, is high.

WE ARE CONTROL FREAKS!

DBAs like to feel they are the Master's of their Universe and that is not lost on me.  I actually consider being a control freak a strength.  As a DBA, I want to ODBC, TelNet, Code Link into my databases.  I have a passion for SQL Management Studio. I like that when I put my credentials in - BAM - total uncontrolled access.

Oh - I don't care about what is inside the tables... with the integrity standards built into the front end, as long as it's correct - who cares... I just want an inter-connective world based on backend connectivity.  I want databases that can talk to other databases and give me what I want when I want it.

With cloud computing, the price is CONTROL.  You have lost it.  While you are paying for the service, the actual data, storage, and connectivity is no longer yours.

The books, text books, teach that the major concerns for cloud computing are 24/7/365 connectivity as you must have a live Internet connection to get to your interface and data and security.  You don't own or manage the servers and therefore you have to trust they have good people, policies, and security/redundancy structure in place.  What they fail to emphasize is data control for the DBA.

Report writing becomes whatever the software interface allows - often a rough pick list type wizard which can do only basic reports. SQL Views cannot be built, re-querying no longer exists, and the handcuffs have shackled your well-paid DBA.

HR data is used in other databases for us; Med Time Management, OIG, and Medical Access Signature databases.  We can no longer connect to the tables or build necessary views to feed these databases and have to rely on hand managed tables. So data integrity is now compromised.

Does Cloud Computing have a place?  YES!  For companies who do not have the ability to cover costs associated with managing software, web portals, servers, networks, etc.

Are SaaS products beneficial to companies that have end users with limited technical skills?  DEFINITELY! SaaS products allow even the most ignorant end user to tab through a form and enter data.

Are SaaS products going to meet all of your needs?  NO!  You are limited to what they are willing to give - which is not much outside of the scope of usage.

For a DBA, a control freak, someone who spent years integrating communication between databases to maximize efficiency and protect the integrity of the data, cloud computing is a disappointment and I want the shackles removed!