Database management has never been so critical to business operations. As digitalisation of business processes continues its march, as IT systems grow in size and complexity, the volumes of data a typical company produces and has to handle are increasing exponentially.
They say that data is the new currency; driving the future evolution of the global economy. But to get any value from the data their IT systems generate, businesses have to be able to manage and interpret it efficiently and effectively. And that is where database development comes in.
Rather than relying on off-the-shelf database software products – the tools you use to organise and interact with data sets, for example, or to analyse and extract intelligence from them – database development allows you to build customised applications designed to meet the specific needs of your operations. It allows you to upgrade and integrate legacy systems, to build data management solutions based on whatever unique mix of data-creating endpoints your company uses, and which design interfaces that your staff will be comfortable using.
Because of the long-term benefits in performance and efficiency that database development provides, the data management software market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Here are some of the key trends expected to drive that growth.
Cloud databases
Rather than full migration of data assets to the cloud, one of the biggest focuses for developers at the moment is how to integrate existing legacy databases with more agile and cost-effective cloud-based management services. This avoids the challenge and risks associated with moving very large volumes of data over to new libraries in the cloud, instead of applying the latest cloud technologies to existing infrastructure.
Security
Security has always been a high priority in data management, and that is only heightened by the growing role cloud technologies are playing. An important trend in database development is building native security solutions into software platforms, including designing for simple yet robust configuration and access options, to make it as simple as possible for all users to comply with security and privacy policies.
Scaling up
Another significant pressure on database management is dealing with the vast volumes of data that many businesses are now generating. According to one survey, 60% of companies now have more than 100TB of structured data to manage, with more than 40% running more than 100 database instances. A priority for customised development is designing solutions that are not only suited to these kinds of volumes, but are also capable of scaling up as data assets continue to grow.
Bridging SQL and non-SQL
Finally, with complex infrastructures made up of large numbers of database instances becoming the norm, it is becoming more and more important to design solutions that bridge the divide between database languages. Although SQL is widely accepted as the standard database language, the proliferation of alternatives means that you can no longer assume that SQL-based solutions are all that is required. This also means that database development specialists are finding ways to integrate so-called relational databases, usually based on SQL, with other management approaches extending flexibility and functionality.
Find out more about bespoke database development in London.
