The ever-changing IT industry requires DBA's to keep their skills up-to-date. This presentation discusses skills that any DBA should have, but also those that any DBA should obtain and nurture regardless of which new technology is entering the (Gartner) hype cycle. The first ever version of this deck was presented during Sangam18 under the title "(Oracle) DBA Skills to Have, to Obtain and to Nurture" and used in other occasions during 2019. It was subsequently enhanced to a more generic 2019 version, which included an outlook for 2020! This edition of the presentation maintains the generic character, but has been updated to reflect unprecedented changes in 2020 and to cover the latest Oracle technology, to provide a 3-year comparison as well as trends analysis. Note that the link on slide 25 in the subtitle should have been: https://go.oracle.com/DBA

1. (Oracle) DBA Skills
to Have, to Obtain and to Nurture
Updated 2020 Edition
Markus Michalewicz
Senior Director of Product Management
Oracle Database High Availability | Scalability | MAA
April 22, 2020
@KnownAsMarkus
www.linkedin.com/in/markusmichalewicz
www.slideshare.net/MarkusMichalewicz

2. Safe harbor statement
The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information
purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any
material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The
development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s
products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.
2 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

3. Safe harbor statement
The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information
purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any
material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The
development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s
products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.
3 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
The following are my own opinions only.

4. Program Agenda
Soft Skills
The Changing Role of the DBA
Technical Skills
Direction & Action
1
2
3
4
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5. Program Agenda
Soft Skills
The Changing Role of the DBA
Technical Skills
Direction & Action
1
2
3
4
5 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

6. Must Have: Communication Skills
You communicate every day!
• You talk to colleagues
• You write emails / texts
• You present a solution
• You discuss your ideas
• You apply for new jobs
Make sure that you communicate the best you can.
6 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

7. Communication Skills – a Top-3 Soft Skill for 3 Years
LinkedIn Reports “Skills Companies Need Most” 2018 – 2020 Excerpt
https://learning.linkedin.com/blo
g/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-2018--
and-the-courses-to-get-t
(January 2, 2018)
“Communication” is the #2
soft skill
“Listening” is an important part
of good communication skills
https://learning.linkedin.com/b
log/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-
2019--and-how-to-learn-them
(January 1, 2019)
“Persuasion” is the #2 soft skill
“Having a great product, a great
platform or a great concept is
one thing,
but the key is persuading people
to buy into it.”
https://learning.linkedin.com/b
log/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-
2020and-how-to-learn-them
(January 13, 2020)
“Persuasion” remains to be the
#2 soft skill
“Leaders and hiring managers
value individuals who can
explain the “why.””
7 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

8. The Top-5 Soft Skills
LinkedIn Report “Skills Companies Need Most” 2018 – 2020 Excerpt
https://learning.linkedin.com/blo
g/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-2018--
and-the-courses-to-get-t
(January 2, 2018)
1. Leadership
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Time Management
5. <NA>
https://learning.linkedin.com/b
log/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-
2019--and-how-to-learn-them
(January 1, 2019)
1. Creativity
2. Persuasion
3. Collaboration
4. Adaptability
5. Time Management
https://learning.linkedin.com/b
log/top-skills/the-skills-
companies-need-most-in-
2020and-how-to-learn-them
(January 13, 2020)
1. Creativity
2. Persuasion
3. Collaboration
4. Adaptability
5. Emotional Intelligence
8 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

9. Obtain: A Set of Strong Skills (Identify your Strengths)
Build on what you can do (best)!
• Very few people can do “everything”.
Obtaining a completely new set of skill gets harder later in life.
• Unless you are starting your career, identify your strengths and build on them.
Extend your skill set into areas you are interested in.
• Easiest way is to look into skills related to those that you already have.
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10. Nurture: Do What You Like Doing
Find areas which interest you / that you like and stick with them!
• This does not mean you have to stay with one thing only.
Doing what you like
• Automatically motivates
• Makes you focus on details
• Makes you enjoy your work
Consequently makes you better in what you do.
10
J
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

11. Adjust According to Your Stage of Life
Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba.com) categorizes 5 career stages:
https://youtu.be/lVo_UVaK9os (2016) / https://youtu.be/MwixREUJOI0?t=55 (2018)
In your twenties (20+)
• Join a good company to learn from a good boss.
In your thirties (30+)
• If you want to try to be an entrepreneur, try it!
In your forties (40+)
• Do something that you are good at.
In your fifties (50+)
• Spend time training and developing young people.
In your sixties (60+)
• Harvest the fruits of your labor and play with your grandkids.
11
20
50
60
40
30
Adjust as
needed
Lead the
change
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12. Program Agenda
Soft Skills
The Changing Role of the DBA
Technical Skills
Direction & Action
1
2
3
4
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13. DevOps are Taking over (Parts of) the DBA Work
DBAs have always been “in the middle” between
• Storage admins
• Network admins
• App developers
“Demarcation lines” are fading with DevOps taking more control.
DBA roles need to adopt to become part of the DevOPs strategy.
13
Skills
DBA
Dev
OPs
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

14. If you are an Operational DBA,
you probably spend much of your time in these areas …
14 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
85% of security breaches
occurred after the CVE was
published
DB Maestro
Security
85%
91% experience unplanned
data center outages
Healthcare IT News
Reliability
91%
72% of IT budget is spent
on generic maintenance
tasks vs innovation
ComputerWorld
Maintenance
72%

15. Goal: Moving the DBA Role Up the Value Chain
Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates
AGILTY
LOW RISK
AUTO
M
ATIO
N
HIGH
BUSINESS
VALUE
4/26/2015

16. Autonomous Database Helps with Automation
16 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
Self-Driving
Automates all database
and infrastructure
management,
monitoring, tuning
Self-Securing
Protects from both
external attacks and
malicious internal
users
Self-Repairing
Protects from all
downtime including
planned
maintenance
[Maintenance] [Security] [Reliability]

17. What Autonomous Database means for DBAs
17 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
• Tasks Specific to the Business
– Architecture, planning, data modeling & strategy
– Data security and data lifecycle management
– Application-related tuning
– End-to-End service level management
• Tactical Operations
– Configuration and tuning of systems, network, storage
– Database provisioning, patching
– Database backups, H/A, disaster recovery
– Database optimization
Value Scale
Strategic
Tactical

18. What Autonomous Database means for DBAs
Removes tactical drudgery, more time for strategic contribution
18 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
• Tasks Specific to the Business
– Architecture, planning, data modeling & strategy
– Data security and data lifecycle management
– Application-related tuning
– End-to-End service level management
• Tactical Operations
– Configuration and tuning of systems, network, storage
– Database provisioning, patching
– Database backups, H/A, disaster recovery
– Database optimization
Value Scale
Tactical
Strategic

19. Data Strategy
Modern Applications require many different:
◦ Data Types - Relational, Document, Spatial, Graph, etc.
◦ Workloads - Transactions, analytics, ML, IoT, etc.
Each data type and workload requires different database algorithms
Two possible Data Strategies:
1. Use a single-purpose database for each data type and workload
2. Use a converged database for all data types and workloads
19 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

20. Converged Database – an Evolution
• Phone calls, messaging, camera, calendar, music, etc.
originally required separate products
• Now, they are largely features of smartphones
• Similarly, key-value, in-memory, analytics, ML, JSON,
sharding, etc. originally required separate products
• Are becoming features of Converged Database
20 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

21. Benefits of Converged Database
Like a Smartphone, a Converged Database:
• Supports mixing of workloads, data types, and algorithms
• Enables SQL and transactions across any data type
• Is simpler, lower cost, more reliable
• Provides unified security and management across all data
• Prevents data fragmentation and copy contagion
• Removes initial and recurring integration costs
• Enables powerful synergies across features
21 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

22. Powerful Synergies
• Synergy across features makes the whole better than sum of parts
• Real-Time Fraud is detectable by converging analytics with OLTP
• OLTP gains flexible data models by converging with document types
• Data Warehouses gain high concurrency and security by converging
with OLTP
• Document stores gain Analytics by converging with warehouses
22 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

23. Oracle Converged Database Enables Simplicity and Data Synergy
For DBAs Converged Database means a “transferable technical skill”
Oracle Converged Database Supports all Workloads
23 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates
Micro-Service
IoT, Key-Value
Traditional Next Generation
4/26/20

24. Oracle Converged Database Enables Simplicity and Data Synergy
For DBAs Converged Database means a “transferable technical skill”
Oracle Converged Database Supports all Data Types
More information:
Next Generation Data Driven Apps Made Easy: Juan Loaiza at Oracle OpenWorld Europe: London 2020
– available here: https://youtu.be/_4qvj79x5Ls
24 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates
Structured and Unstructured
Micro-Service
IoT, Key-Value
Traditional Next Generation
4/26/20

25. For DBAs Converged Database means a “transferable technical skill”
Example - https://explore.oracle.com/c/changing-role-of-dba
Join us and gain an attainable, logical, evolutionary path to add machine learning to your valuable
Oracle data skills. Attend this virtual session to start your journey to machine learning. Follow a week-
by-week framework so you can learn how to extract more information, insights, and make predictions
25 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

26. Program Agenda
Soft Skills
The Changing Role of the DBA
Technical Skills
Direction & Action
1
2
3
4
26 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

27. Cloud (tools);
not only for install,
patch & upgrade
27
Networking skills Security skills
Must Have: (Basic) Cloud Skills
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28. Must Have: Basic Cloud Skills
Unlike some other technologies, the cloud(s) is (are) here to stay
• Some hype-technologies have disappeared over time. The cloud won’t.
• Multiple players in a market (e.g. NoSQL DBs) can make choices difficult. Cloud players are limited.
Must learn new tools and cloud architectures
• Different cloud infrastructures come with their own tooling and architectures.
• For DBaaS offerings tools enable and limit what one can do. Need to know what’s under the covers.
Need to understand networking
• The only way to reach a database in the cloud is the network.
• Network topologies differ between clouds (& for the client).
Need to secure the data at all times
• Security implementations differ between cloud infrastructures.
• In Oracle’s Autonomous Database most security is managed for you.
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29. Data Modeling
Architecture / “data wrangler”
29
Data Security
Data classification /
Data lifecycle management
Application Tuning
SQL tuning / connection
management
Obtain: Autonomous Database & Cloud Skills
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

30. Benefits:
A sound data model
• simplifies database tuning
• Improves time to market
• Reduces costs & project
creep
Opportunity to spend
more time focused on
architecting a solution.
Prepare:
Take advantage of tools
• E.g. Oracle SQL Developer
Data Modeler - a free
diagramming and data
modeling tool:
- For logical & relational
modeling, versioning, DDL
Generation, Compare &
Synch
• Reverse Engineer:
- Existing Schemas , DDLs
(not just Oracle)
• Publish your diagrams and
data dictionaries
- HTML, PDF, SVG or
database reporting
repository
30
Extend:
Most popular data format for
new web applications is JSON
Storing JSON documents in
the database greatly
simplifies application
development as the same
schema-less data
representation can be use in
Application and the Database
Just because the schema is
now in a JSON document,
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t
have a entity model
Don’t be afraid to bring
modeling to the “wild west”
of JSON
Obtain: Data Modeling Skills
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

31. Security is a shared
responsibility:
• Security Managed by
Oracle:
- Network security and
threat detection
- Strong platform security
- Automatic database
patches
- Strict administrative control
- Data encryption by default
Prepare 1:
Identify your assets
• Know what data you have
and where
Secure all databases
• Make sure that there are no
insecure settings, default
passwords etc.
• Remove unnecessary
privileges
• Determine what data should
be masked in dev and test
environments
• Determine what data should
be redacted or dynamically
masked in applications
31
Prepare 2:
Encrypt your data
All cloud services
encrypt data
Backup your data
Make sure you can
recover from backups
Work with application
development
See if Redaction is
applicable to current
applications
Obtain: Data Security Skills for ADB
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

32. Benefits:
Same rules apply!
• Take the time to
understand the business
process and what’s
important
- No point improving a SQL
statement if no one cares
that it takes an hour
• Connection management
is just as important in the
cloud
- Having thousands of
connects logging on
and off the database every
second won’t scale
Prepare:
Get familiar with new
functionality in the latest
versions of the database
that will improve end-user
experiences
• Database In-Memory
• Real-Time Materialized
Views
• JSON support
• Approximate Analytic
Queries
• REST APIs
• Etc
32
Extend:
DBAs should work more
closely with developers to
help improve the
end-user experience
Advocates for the features
and functionality that are in
the database that can improve
the agility of development
teams
• Stop developers from re-
inventing the wheel in their
application code
Provide APIs to help
developers get to the data
they need quickly and
efficiently
Obtain: Application Tuning Skills
4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

33. Nurture: Transferable On-Premises Skills
Oracle (Converged) Database, RAC, Data Guard, Sharding & MAA skills
• All these technologies are offered the same way on multiple platforms.
Tuning skills
• Infrastructure and DB tuning will be less required, but skills remain useful.
Troubleshooting skills
• Autonomous Database will make the day-to-day operation easier.
• However, there will be failures in cloud environments in general.
33 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

34. Program Agenda
Soft Skills
The Changing Role of the DBA
Technical Skills
Direction & Action
1
2
3
4
34 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

35. General Directions & Ideas for Steps to Take
Increase your value as a DBA
1.
2.
Change your job
In 2 steps:
1. Consider changing into an
emerging job (per country)
2. Know which skills are
currently sought after
Change field of expertise
In 2 steps:
1. Decide on the new field
2. Consider “your stage of life”
and potentially adapt filed
accordingly
35 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
ORACLE
AUTONOMOUS
DATABASE

36. Increase your value as a DBA
Example: https://blocksandfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Database-Software-Market-White-Paper.pdf
36 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates

37. Change Your Job – Step 1
LinkedIn’s WorldWide 2020 Emerging Jobs Report – 2021 not out yet…
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/emerging-jobs-
report?trk=li_li_namer_bcs_product20_linkedin_emerging-
jobs&utm_campaign=product20&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&
utm_content=emerging-jobs#select-country/two-zero-two-zero
37 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

38. Change Your Job – Step 2
LinkedIn Reports “Skills Companies Need Most” 2018 – 2020
https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/top-
skills/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-
2018--and-the-courses-to-get-t (Jan 2, ‘18)
1. Cloud and Distributed Computing
2. Statistical Analysis and Data
Mining
3. Middleware and Integration
Software
...
10. Network and Information
Security
...
12. Data Engineering and Data
Warehousing
13. Storage Systems and
Management
14. Electronic and Electrical
Engineering
…
https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/to
p-skills/the-skills-companies-need-
most-in-2019--and-how-to-learn-
them (Jan 1, 2019)
1. Cloud & Distributed Computing
2. Artificial Intelligence ß New
3. Analytical Reasoning ß Down 1
4. People Management
...
10. Audio Production ß Video
production is on 7
...
12. Scientific Computing
13. Game Development
14. Social Media Marketing
15. Animation
…
https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/to
p-skills/the-skills-companies-need-
most-in-2020and-how-to-learn-them
(January 13, 2020)
1. Blockchain - New
2. Cloud Computing - Down 1
3. Analytical Reasoning - Same
as 2019
4. Artificial Intelligence - Down
2
…
6. Business Analysis - Up 10
7. Affiliate Marketing - New
…
9. Scientific Computing - Up 3
10. Video Production - Down 3
<Top 10 only>
38 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20

39. Change your Field of Expertise
Utilizing Gartner’s Hype Cycle: https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/research/hype-cycle
According to Gartner:
Interpreting technology hype
When new technologies make bold
promises, how do you discern the
hype from what’s commercially
viable? And when will such claims
pay off, if at all? …
How do you use Hype Cycles?
Clients use Hype Cycles to get
educated about the promise of an
emerging technology within the
context of their industry and
individual appetite for risk. …
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40. Change your Field of Expertise
Utilizing Gartner’s Hype Cycle: https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/research/hype-cycle
Steps:
1. Choose a technology field
2. Determine how long you need to
acquire the required skills to
master the field into which you
want to enter
3. Weigh against “Plateau will be
reached in” time prediction
4. Find suitable training courses
5. Do it!
40 4/26/20Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates
Choose a
technology
field

41. Change your Field of Expertise
Using Gartner’s Hype Cycle
2018: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/5-trends-emerge-in-gartner-hype-cycle-for-emerging-technologies-2018/
2019: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/5-trends-appear-on-the-gartner-hype-cycle-for-emerging-technologies-2019/
41 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
Blockchain

42. For Any Direction You Take
Be adaptable (repeat process starting with slide 8 next year )
42 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
• Jack Ma says to plan 10 years ahead
– https://youtu.be/MwixREUJOI0?t=55
– Adjust the time frame as needed &
perhaps avoid training for technology
to reach plateau-state in < 2 years
• Consider the stage of your career
– E.g. joining a startup using technology
in “inflated expectations” stage in your
thirties might be OK.
• There are always exceptions to the rule!

43. 43 Copyright © 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates 4/26/20
Thank you
Markus Michalewicz (Markus.Michalewicz@oracle.com)
Senior Director of Database Product Management
@KnownAsMarkus
www.linkedin.com/in/markusmichalewicz
www.slideshare.net/MarkusMichalewicz