Chapter 1: The Evolution of DBMSs, DBAs, and the Role of Apache ShardingSphere
Today, data is recognized as the most valuable property available. As the so-called warehouses for this most valuable property, databases were not always given the enviable amount of attention they have been getting as of late. The hyper-growth of the internet, as well as its related and non-related industries (think traditional sectors affected by the positive externalities of increased connectivity, such as transportation and retail), the emergence of cloud-native, the development of the database industry, and distributed technology, have brought up new requirements and renewed pressure on businesses and their infrastructure.
Additionally, changes in societies at large, coupled with changes to people's lifestyles, have also raised new issues, concerns, and requirements for any modern company. Accordingly, companies must review their products, services, and architectures for their end users and consider upgrading and innovating from the frontend to the backend. Ultimately, they must consider the database and data as the most vital parts of this evolutionary process.
Simply put, data drives businesses. Stakeholders from C-suite executives, such as CIOs, to database managers are aware of the important role that data plays in transforming their businesses, satisfying users, and allowing them to maintain or create new competitive advantages.
Such recognition created a focus on three key areas all related to data – data collection, data storage, and data security – all of which will be discussed in detail in this book. The absence of databases from this list is by no means a lack of appreciation toward their integral role within organizations, but only the omission of an obvious fact.
Overlooking databases can create inefficiencies that can quickly snowball and become seriously threatening problems, such as a poor database experience for employees and customers, cost overruns, and poor workload optimization. At the same time, enterprises also need capable experts to leverage their databases and manage and efficiently utilize the data. Hence, the data, database, and database administrator (DBA) form a system that allows enterprises to efficiently store, protect, and leverage their assets.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- The evolution of DBMSs
- The evolving role of the DBA
- The opportunities and future directions for DBMSs
- Understanding Apache ShardingSphere
By the end of this chapter, you will have developed a comprehensive understanding of the current challenges for DBMSs. For those of you that are already familiar with the ongoing evolution of the database industry, this chapter will serve either as a refresher of the most pressing challenges or as a reference that organizes these challenges for you into one place.
Understanding these challenges will be followed by an introduction to the Apache ShardingSphere ecosystem and its driving concepts. Finally, you will be able to answer how ShardingSphere can help you solve the most pressing DBMS challenges and support you well into the future evolution of the database industry.