Organizations are collecting unprecedented amounts of data, deploying new eBusiness applications and offering their partners and customers 24 x 7 access to their information resources. Database management in the digital economy is complex and challenging and can mean the difference between an enterprise’s success or failure. Effective database management is key to providing optimal performance, timely changes and maintenance, as well as ensuring the availability of the precious commodity — information.

Ensuring Peak Performance
Keeping a database performing optimally requires the right tools. Too often, DBAs are so busy reacting to daily events and problems that they don’t have time for proactive management. Finding the root cause of performance issues is key to solving them. Many times, the symptoms have been addressed while the main cause has been left unchecked. The DBA needs to seamlessly navigate through the vast amount of performance information and quickly identify the true cause of performance problems. To evolve from reactive to proactive performance management, organizations must continuously monitor performance, easily pinpoint the root cause of a problem and take corrective actions before performance is negatively impacted.

Automating Database Administration
Migrating, altering, loading and unloading data are time-consuming activities that impact system resources. DBAs struggle just to keep up with routine database administration tasks. As organizations continue to collect more data from new and varied sources, the size andcomplexity of their database environments increase, making them more difficult to maintain and manage. Moreover, additional production systems are running on multiple platforms requiring administrators to accurately maintain and update objects across the heterogeneous enterprise. DBAs need solutions that automate tasks, help reduce errors and allow them to focus on database optimization strategies that directly benefit the bottom line.

Protecting Assets Through Backup and Recovery
Information is an organization’s most valuable asset, yet it is often the most vulnerable. Data can vanish in a heartbeat. In today’s 24 x 7 economy, backup windows are getting smaller and data stores are getting larger—while the cost of downtime, lost data and delayed processing are rising. Additionally, many planned and unplanned events affect dataavailability — organizational changes, utility processes, hardware problems and unavoidable disasters. DBAs are under increasing pressure to prevent downtime and quickly perform complex recoveries, thereby avoiding any negative impact on business continuity. Today, more than ever, organizations must implement flawless backup routines and recovery strategies.