Database Management Best Practices and Technology

Some areas within IT have difficulty maintaining or improving performance of existing applications because of increasingly complex environments. This problem compounds as they deploy new applications with shared Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure. Instead of looking at the combination and interaction across infrastructure components, some are trying out-of-date client-server techniques in lieu of using point management utilities in hopes of a quick remedy. With multiple tiers and siloed point management the norm, IT historically has procured and over provisioned in an attempt to ensure service levels remain within targets as cross-domain processes. Previous attempts to create integrated management in some organizations were abandoned when political barriers were encountered. Many departments were told by their domain management that it was not a problem of theirs to resolve. With application services available over a wide variety of networks, including ones external to business, the practice of over provisioning cannot be applied to systems that are not assets of the company.

Network management is so fundamental to SOA providing access to internal and global services it has been compared to common electrical distribution and the term "Grid" applied. Just like power distribution, if similar converged and responsive management is not utilized, overall service blackouts could occur with even regional disruptions impacting the masses.

End-to-end performance management strategies are being chosen over the silo approach. Early adopters deploying SOA-based initiatives will consider the impact of performance across the tiers of IT infrastructure in concert versus the singular domain silo approach. There are those in IT that may be focusing on application coverage by platform or vendor unaware there is now technology available that be used for common management across multiple vendors. A differentiating factor with SOA applications is that services will be running in different business unit domains, or even on ones outside of the WAN and old practices may no longer be applicable.