There are plenty of good reasons to simplify. Perhaps most compelling is that simplification achieves better outcomes with fewer resources. Or, to put it another way, you get greater returns with fewer liabilities.
As much as I enjoy sophisticated gadgetry in some aspects of my life, I appreciate simplicity even more. When it comes to bicycling, give me online calculators for optimum tire pressure, aerodynamically optimized wheelsets, heart rate monitors, and—yes—power meters. For other aspects of my life, simplicity is the priority: using one kitchen knife that rules them all, making dinner with fewer ingredients and steps, and making sense of airline miles.
In the world of IT, automation can enable great progress in simplification. I have previously written about how automation helps to reduce risk. The Gartner report Simplify to Grow: A C-Level Imperative for 2024 and Beyond shows that automation is one of the more popular simplification initiatives that companies are undertaking. The Gartner report further states, “A successful attack on complexity can not only cut costs, but also reduce errors, increase agility, eliminate obstacles to growth and free up resources for innovation.”
The complex nature of database management and the slow pace of adoption of automation tools are significantly affecting many companies’ bottom line. The 2023 Quest Oracle Community Database Priorities Survey shows that, in 2023, 67% of the respondents believed that the time, money, and resources they spent on database management were hindering their organizations’ competitiveness. Yet their strategy (according to the Quest survey) appears to be to “throw it over the fence” and make it someone else’s problem (that is, transferring or hiding complexity instead of eliminating it).
By automating some of the more mundane aspects of database management, NetApp has simplified the lives of database administrators and SAP Basis administrators. Check out the wealth of NetApp® solutions for the automation of Oracle, SAP, SQL Server, and open-source databases.
And to help you fuel innovation, stay competitive, and protect and secure your data, find out what else NetApp can do for your databases.
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.