Thread regarding Oracle Corp. layoffs

BEST RESPONSE:

From @PH0Xx-mxe

"The next version of the database will include artificial intelligence so it can develop itself. No need for administrators or developers."

😂

Let's look at LE's claims:

• The database will patch itself without downtime. This will require RAC, which is extremely expensive. Single instance Oracle databases cannot be patched or upgraded without downtime, despite promises to the contrary from Oracle for years.

• Recent versions of the Oracle database are already semi-autonomous for light or moderate OLTP workloads. For heavy workloads and/or data warehousing, it requires a lot of administration, tuning, and configuration of the underlying storage and network infrastructure. Cloud does not solve this problem. I agree with LE that AWS's warehouse database, Redshift, requires a great deal of administration and tuning, particularly in how the data is partitioned. The only autonomous/serverless SQL data warehouse that scales is Google BigQuery. I believe LE's announcement of focused on competition from serverless/no-ops databases.

• "Machine Learning" will make the database run autonomously. This is the myth that Machine Learning is some magic pill that cures everything. Machine Learning involves training mathematical models with massive amounts of data. For example, if you have thousands of sensors on jet engines, you can take millions/billions of sensor readings, run them through trained models, and predict when the engines will need maintenance or will fail. Or, if you're Google, you process billions of searches per day, discover patterns in which websites users click in the search engine results, then predict what answer the user wants. For Machine Learning to work on Oracle database maintenance, customers would need to send all of their logs to Oracle all of the time; Oracle customers don't do this, and I doubt that Oracle has the infrastructure to handle it.

Also, LE didn't say how much this new database will cost. You know it won't be cheap.

We use Cloud and Virtualization. Database Administration is easier or .. not. Having to put the database on top of another layer it triggers different challenges. Troubleshooting Oracle RAC so much more complicated than it sitting on physical, often leads to finger pointing. Certain times, I am not even sure why we invested in Oracle RAC when weighting the benefits over the constant challenges we have. Performance tuning so much more complicated with extra layer that not always transparent to DBA especially in Cloud. Though with cloud, it opens up to a lot more different opportunities. We are on the shift to using Postgresql to cut cost down, reducing hassles with Oracle Corp and with the minimal cost it justified for its lacking of features. But good DBAs will make it up. In near future, we will likely changing from major Oracle database shop to something else. So, DBA role will always needed. Job description may be a bit different.

Has anyone tried using the cloud providers? Yes, the eliminate some jobs but it just shifts. There is still a lot of work to do on AWS. You want to do devops? Well someone needs to script it all out. It's not as easy to say everything can be eliminated.

This is what LE said

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of autonomous systems like self-driving cars and our new self-driving database are the economics that surround total automation. Self-driving cars eliminate the labor cost of driving plus the high cost associated with human driving errors. Self-driving database eliminates the labor cost of tuning, managing and upgrading the database, thus, avoiding all of the costly downtime associated with human error.

LE is getting too old for the job and starting to get delusional. No administration on next database? No dba judgement involved?

Oracle will need to prove the point by getting rid of ALL Oracle database certifications and all the training that related to Oracle Database because, technically, a secretary can run the database with absolutely no database knowledge required. Oracle features makes DBA easier but not eliminating. That is at best it can go. DBA has to make a lot of decision.

The next version of the database will include artificial intelligence so it can develop itself. No need for administrators or developers.

And what are the chances that this actually going to work? Like zero?

All experienced oracle employees will be replaced by AI and college grads.

Great! Tech Support & SC will be replaced with AI.