As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, the role of the Database Administrator (DBA) has evolved from back-office support to strategic business enabler. However, mounting pressures, rising complexity, and a growing disconnect between IT leadership and DBAs are pushing one in three DBAs to consider leaving their roles, according to the SolarWinds 2025 State of the DBA Report.
With data now underpinning AI, analytics, security, and customer experience, DBAs are managing hybrid architectures spanning on-premises (57%), public cloud (31%), and private cloud (12%) environments. Despite their strategic value, DBAs spend 27 of their 40 weekly working hours on firefighting, largely due to alert fatigue, reactive troubleshooting, and fragmented tooling. The report highlights that 75% struggle to prioritize incidents, with nearly half calling the impact “great” or “severe.”
AI tools are offering relief—62% say AI helps diagnose issues faster, while 53% claim it frees them to focus on higher-impact work. Yet misaligned workflows, poor data quality, and lack of governance are hampering AI adoption.
Kevin Kline, Database Management Systems Expert at SolarWinds, warns, “As organizations grow ever more dependent on data and the DBAs who manage it, it’s imperative to build a culture that removes complexities and misalignments to unlock true team success.”
The message is clear: organizations adopting unified tools, AI-enabled support, and ongoing training will not only retain top DBA talent but transform them into true champions of innovation and business resilience.
