Are you too lazy to reap the benefits of database consolidation?

“I think a lot can be said for consolidation, but I think it should be done for the right reasons.” 

Margrethe Vestager, Danish politician 

We (my family and I) have been attempting to perform some fiscal consolidation for quite a while now. With investment and savings accounts spread across several financial institutions, it behooves us to get our financial act together. 

So why haven’t we consolidated our finances yet? Human nature says that the easiest change to make is no change. Despite all the advantages associated with consolidation (easier management of funds, improved observability, better relations with an investment house, and a lot more), it doesn’t appear to be enough to get us to actually do anything to realize these benefits. Human nature is tough to beat. If only there were an “easy button” …

Database consolidation is one of the most mature tasks that DBAs face. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can drive a lot of the need for database consolidation. It’s easy for an acquiring company to end up with lots of databases on different hardware platforms supporting many different applications. This proliferation leads to increased maintenance (patching) and underutilized licenses and platforms, and it can pose a security risk. Even though, according to McKinsey, M&A activity has been amazingly volatile, the year ahead should see an uptick in activity.

With Oracle Database 12c, Oracle began offering an alternative deployment model: Multitenant architecture for container databases. 19c is the last version to offer both the traditional deployment architecture and Multitenant. So, beginning with 21c, Multitenant will be the only deployment architecture offered for the Oracle Database. Are you ready? 

In addition to reducing capex (more databases on a server) and improving agility, Oracle’s “multitenant-ness” makes it easier to manage Oracle databases – especially the consolidation of Oracle databases – thereby reducing opex. 

I’ve previously posted about NetApp’s support of Oracle’s Container Databases and Pluggable Databases. NetApp makes it easy to take full advantage of the benefits that Oracle’s Multitenant architecture offers. It’s easier than using the native tools in the Oracle Database. With NetApp® SnapCenter® backup management software and the SnapCenter Plug-In for Oracle Database, creating copies of the Oracle Database couldn’t be easier – or faster. That can mean faster quarter close, faster time –to market, the ability to react more quickly to competitive pressures, and more. 

Going back to human nature—can companies that are putting off database consolidation continue to do so without any negative ramifications? According to Pitchly, it’s not likely. Pitchly points out the costs of putting off database consolidation: 

• Poor or incorrect decision making. Data silos prevent teams from having access to all the data that the company has. 
• Data quality and security issues. Database consolidation enables companies to better govern their data, improving security. 
• Maintaining multiple databases. Searching through multiple databases is inefficient and not cost effective. 

Head over to the Oracle Solution page to learn more about what NetApp can do to help speed your business. And read more about how NetApp enables Oracle in the cloud. Now—where’s my easy button?