With data volume and complexity continuing to rise rapidly, businesses are striving to achieve greater efficiency by reevaluating their database strategies. Instead of expanding their data stacks, many businesses are privatizing integration.
The number of organizations sticking to just one database platform has jumped from 21% in 2023 to 26% this year, according to a new report from Redgate, a provider of database management solutions. The biggest challenge when using multiple database technologies is skillset requirements and individual/team training, up from 38% in 2023.
Nearly three-fourths (74%) of companies now limit themselves to three platforms or fewer. The number of those using four or more databases fell from 29% to 9%. This trend suggests a year of consolidation, with a move toward efficiency and manageability over sheer expansion.
Redgate’s 2025 State of the Database Landscape report shows that traditional relational databases, such as Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL remain dominant, but NoSQL platforms like MongoDB and Redis are gaining traction.
According to Redgate, the preference for open-source and NoSQL solutions is evident in the rise of MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Snowflake in the last two years.
“People tasked with database management continue to work at speed in an increasingly complex environment, said David Gummer, Redgate’s Chief Product Officer. “I’m concerned that these increased pressures are exposing organizations to significant risks, which can be exacerbated by ineffective internal operations and collaboration.”
“Our research shows that 68% of teams do not have formal processes in place to share best practices, further increasing the likelihood of human error and security vulnerabilities.”
The report also emphasizes the growing importance of data security and test data management (TDM). However, organizations are still struggling with slow refresh rates, compliance inconsistencies, and outdated testing environments.
How are organizations approaching these hurdles? Nearly 38% of organizations mask production data, while 16% are looking to use synthetic data to minimize exposure risks. The number of organizations without any strategy for handling sensitive data has dropped from 35% in 2023 to just 14% this year.
A key takeaway from this year’s report is the widening skills gap to meet the demands of growing AI applications, widespread adoption of the cloud, and multiple database platforms. The professional development opportunities have been lacking.
“One of the other big surprises from this year’s survey was the finding that skill set requirements and individual or team training are the biggest challenges organizations face in managing different database technologies,” continues Gummer.
The mismatch between training availability and demand is evident in the statistic that 44% of professionals prefer weekly or monthly training opportunities, but only 27% of organizations provide them this frequently. Along with limited access to training, professionals are also struggling with a lack of time (67%) and insufficient financial support (39%).
Even if organizations cannot provide on-the-job training, allowing employees to have dedicated time away from their daily tasks to pursue training opportunities could help bridge the skills gap.
It’s not surprising that organizations are trying to balance the risks of using AI. Redgate’s research highlights that 61% of organizations remain concerned about the security and privacy risks of using AI, while 57% are cautious about its accuracy.
We’ve seen similar concerns in many other surveys in the past two years. However, Redgate’s report highlights the specific challenges organizations face when using AI for database management, and the findings aren’t particularly encouraging.
AI adoption has dropped from 20% in 2023 to just 15% in 2024, reflecting ongoing hesitation due to security, accuracy, and compliance concerns. Despite this slowdown, those leveraging AI are seeing tangible gains. Respondents shared that the top benefits of using AI in database management include automation (47%), task streamlining (45%), and standardization (42%).
While the cloud remains a crucial part of database strategies, organizations are taking a more measured approach. The percentage of organizations with most or all of their data in the cloud has dropped from 36% in 2023 to 30% in 2024. Almost half of the respondents (46%) are planning to move to a hybrid approach. The biggest obstacle is cost management (63%), ahead of performance issues (40%) and resource optimization (37%).
For more in-depth analysis from Redgate, you can download the full report.
Related Items
2025 Big Data Management Predictions
What Leonardo DaVinci Teaches Us About Data Management
Three Ways Data Products Empower Internal Users
The post Redgate’s Report Suggests a Year of Consolidation in Database Management appeared first on BigDATAwire.
0 Commentaires