Setting the Right Expectations When Databases are Involved

What do you do when you have a new project you need to start working on, and you know it requires a database, probably some custom queries that you can't use an off-the-shelf CMS for, and you know nothing much about databases yourself?

This is the situation I find myself in with a client who runs a small business with big ambitions of expanding through franchising, and of course part of the appeal will be a national Intranet and secure franchisee login area that will be used to track sales, lead generation, and extrapolate reports using SQL queries.

I'm good at marketing, I can do HTML, I can even backup a database, but creating one from scratch, along with the lookups required is way beyond me, and I'd hate to think what my efforts would do for database performance.

This is precisely why the guys with DBA certification get paid the big bucks, they know exactly what needs to be done to optimize queries, reduce contention, and optimize tables to reduce server load, whilst also maximizing simultaneous connections to avoid error messages and timeouts.

Generally I won't hire or recommend a database administrator who doesn't have certification, and this is what I tell my clients as well, in this particular case my function is more or less setting up the team and then stepping away from the project so I can't afford to recommend contractors who could let the client down through inexperience or lack of training.

Database design and maintenance requires in-depth knowledge of the DB being used, whether it's MS SQL Server, Oracle, Informix, Filemaker, or any other RDBMS, and remember they run on specific servers that sometimes also require knowledge of the way the OS works.

This kind of knowledge can be gained by working in the industry, but only with at least several years of practical experience, and I find certification really improves the quality of work of a DBA because they are tested on best practice in their certification exam. When you work as a consultant, and get paid for setting up introductions, these things are important.