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Dave Krenik
Dave Krenik

“Software is the language of automation.”

—Jensen Huang

I’ll be the first to admit that riding my bike indoors can be mind numbing. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, the monotony of training indoors is unavoidable for folks who want to maintain (or improve) their on-the-bike fitness. Ugh.

There are options that can help in whiling the minutes away while pedaling indoors. Podcasts help, and some indoor trainers can communicate with a power meter on the bicycle. This meter makes it possible to set a specific resistance level (or load) that the indoor trainer maintains regardless of how fast, or slow, you are pedaling. Why is this ability so amazing? It means that you don’t have to view the tiny bike computer display to make sure that you’re in your targeted training zone. It leaves you free to gaze, slack-jawed, at 3-year-old cyclocross videos with the sound off (because the announcers are speaking Flemish). Sweet, eh? Maintaining the appropriate level of effort has become automated by the training application, freeing my mind for higher-value activity – like contemplating which wine to serve with dinner tonight.

“There’s a lot of automation that can happen that isn’t a replacement of humans, but of mind-numbing behavior.”

— Stewart Butterfield

New technologies require new skills

I’ve previously noted the skills shortage (or skills mismatch) in IT in general and cybersecurity specifically. Basically, it’s not unusual for there to be a “talent shortage” when new technologies are introduced. Concerningly, the situation for IT might only be a microcosm of what’s happening on a much larger scale in our world.

In “Factfulness,” Hans Rosling talks about how the world population growth rate is actually decreasing. With Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers having fewer children, and having them later (if at all), it makes sense that the birth rate is lower than the 2.2 children per eligible woman needed to “break even.” The World Health Organization states in their Ageing and health factsheet that “The pace of population ageing is much faster than in the past.” And “Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%.”

Who will do the work?

We’re going to run out of folks who actually do the work. What happens when the 60-somethings all leave the workforce? Or, just as important, who will fix me my Manhattan? Eventually, there won’t be enough people to fill needed roles. In “Turning worker scarcity into opportunity” McKinsey notes that there are nearly 500,000 unfilled jobs in manufacturing in the United States alone, and that this number could rise to nearly 2 million by 2034.

“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.”

— Elbert Hubbard

Automation to the rescue. By automating lower-level tasks, people are freed to perform more complex work. Think about what projects DBAs and SAP Basis admins might take on when they’re freed from mundane and repetitive tasks such as clones, system refreshes, and the like. NetApp has been enabling DBAs and Basis admins to contribute in more valuable ways for decades. In fact, the NetApp® BlueXP workload factory contains an entire landscape of tools to automate GenAI projects, databases, and more. In addition to automating aspects of SQL Server administration, NetApp has tools for automating SAP HANA System Copy and Clone Operations with NetApp SnapCenter® and Automated Oracle Deployment on NetApp ASA, along with a whole host of other database automation tools.

Take the next step

If you’re already a NetApp customer, some of these tools may already be available to you. This is a good place to start. Start using them today and increase the value that you bring to your organization.

Dave Krenik

Dave has been bringing solutions to market under various monikers (alliances, business development, solution marketing) for more than 15 years. Before entering the world of tech, he enjoyed a 15-year stint in the wine business.

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