In 2018, companies looked for ways to improve their database performance and security. Their aim was to keep up with ever-higher expectations of speed, privacy and returns on investment. Here are five top trends we think will drive business activity in 2019. 1. Security will continue to be your biggest challenge Cyber security hit the headlines in 2018. Major outages, frightening data breaches and privacy debates infused boardroom conversations across the globe. The millions of users affected by hacks at Facebook, Google+, Marriott and many others, just prove that when database security goes wrong, it can go very wrong. The New Year has started the same way with news of a major hack of politicians’ data in Germany. The big question of ‘how do we make our databases more secure?’ will continue to vex IT managers in 2019. Some will look to data masking to preserve privacy during DevOps projects. For others, where the number of database users has grown significantly over several years, a strategic review of access rights could improve security without damaging business operations. 2. IoT and Cloud computing pose opportunities and risks As IoT permeates more aspects of our lives, an increasing amount of personal and business data will exist in the Cloud where it can interact with multiple devices. In fact, Gartner estimates that, by 2020, 50 billion devices will be connected to each other. All this brings new risks and challenges as DBAs will still be expected to manage database performance and functionality. 3. Automation is coming Automation is affecting many workers, from farmers to taxi drivers, and database professionals are not immune. The need for greater efficiency and accuracy, alongside new tools such as Desired State Configuration, is driving the automation of many routine database maintenance tasks. 4. The skills gap is very real The good news for database professionals is that automation will not eliminate their jobs. In fact, there is a shortage of people with specific database management skills. This is particularly the case for higher-level roles that require experience with tuning and tweaking databases to ensure security, functionality and performance. 5. GDPR is not going away You might be breathing a huge sigh of relief because you ticked GDPR off your to-do list in 2018. But, you cannot afford to let this slip in 2019. Consumers are more aware than ever that companies have control of their digital information and the authorities will not be lenient with those organizations that are not GDPR compliant and constantly vigilant. Are you ready for these challenges? Looking ahead to 2019, we are heartened to see that most businesses are using what they’ve learned from the past few years to be more proactive in maintaining and improving their databases. With data being collected, analyzed and stored at exponential rates, your database is one of your most valuable assets. Preventing data leaks and security breaches should always be a priority and doing nothing is not an option. What are your top database predictions for 2019? We’d love to know. If you have any thoughts to share or questions to ask, you can contact us here.
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