Brian Walker

Database Architect | Database Designer | Database Developer | Database Administrator

There are three common database job roles: operational database administrator, data architect or database architect, and business intelligence developer.

A typical operational database administrator would focus on things OUTSIDE the database. This includes the server hardware, server operating system, and SQL Server instance(s).

A typical data architect or database architect would focus on things INSIDE the database. This includes data modeling, data structures, database architecture, and SQL code (stored procedures, functions, views).

A typical business intelligence developer would focus on importing/exporting data. This includes ETL tasks (SSIS), data analysis (SSAS or Power BI), and creating/running reports (SSRS or Power BI).

An operational database administrator shares one major task with a data architect or database architect, performance tuning. However, they generally approach it from two different directions. An operational database administrator often looks for bottlenecks on the server (CPU, RAM, disk) while a data architect or database architect often looks for inappropriate data structures, ineffective indexing, and inefficient SQL code. In my experience, the vast majority of performance issues can be substantially resolved without involving changes to the server (CPU, RAM, disk).

The work of a data architect or database architect is a bridge between operational database administrators and business intelligence developers. It requires awareness of the other two database job roles.

The work of a business intelligence developer often has more in common with an application developer than it does with the other two database job roles, especially when it involves SSRS or Power Apps.

The differences between these database job roles are critical distinctions because my passion is with one of the three roles. I consider myself to be a data architect or database architect.

I'm very good at seeking out existing performance issues and resolving them.

I'm very good at designing and building new databases that do not suffer from performance issues.

I'm very good at recognizing opportunities for improvement (data integrity and/or performance) in existing databases.

I'm proficient with many tasks (certainly not all tasks) of an operational database administrator, but I would like to be involved with other things as well so I'm not looking for a position that's predominantly such a role.

I'm proficient with many tasks (certainly not all tasks) of a business intelligence developer, but I would like to be involved with other things as well so I'm not looking for a position that's predominantly such a role.

I enjoy many tasks from all three database job roles, but my strongest skills are as a data architect or database architect.