SolarWinds, a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software, has released its 2025 State of the DBA Report, which delves into the increasing pressure on today’s database administrators (DBAs) and reveals a clear disconnect between executive perception and DBA reality. The report draws on insights from over 1,000 IT professionals, including 500 executives and more than 500 DBAs.
As organisations manage diverse databases, multi-environment systems, and rising privacy demands, the DBA role has become both more critical and complex. A gap in expectations between DBAs and IT executives has intensified burnout, leading one in three DBAs to consider leaving their roles. Yet with unified tools, ongoing training, and a focus on strategic initiatives, organisations can empower DBAs not just to survive these pressures, but to become key drivers of innovation.
The Role of the DBA in 2025: Managing Increasing Complexity
As data environments evolve and organisations embrace hybrid and cloud-native architectures, the role of the database administrator has grown. While DBAs (81%) predominantly manage Oracle and SQL servers, these systems are now just one piece of the puzzle. This group is now responsible for an entire ecosystem of diverse data technologies that power analytics, AI and modern applications. They also monitor deployment environments, including:
• On-premises: 57% of respondents
• Public cloud: 31% of respondents
• Private cloud: 12% of respondents
This growing complexity of the DBA role, coupled with misalignment with IT executives, can drive costly mistakes and impact the business’s bottom line.
Firefighting: A Persistent Cycle
For many DBAs, firefighting dominates the workweek, with 27 of their 40 hours spent on reactive tasks. This relentless pace not only fuels burnout but also sidelines strategic initiatives, and contributes to job dissatisfaction. Findings include:
• 75% of respondents said alert fatigue is affecting their ability to prioritize and respond to incidents49% of those respondents who reported being affected by alert fatigue described the impact as "great" or "severe”
It’s important for executives to find and provide the right, innovative tooling that can mitigate complexity, rising costs, and alert fatigue.
AI Tools Reduce Workload, but DBAs Encounter Adoption Challenges
Both DBAs and IT executives see how AI tools strengthen DBA functions, reducing firefighting and supporting unified IT environments. DBAs already using AI tooling experience these benefits and more:
• 62% say AI has helped diagnose performance issues more quickly
• 60% report more reliable and consistent routine task execution
• 54% have reduced the time spent on manual or repetitive tasks
• 53% say it's freed them to focus on higher-impact work
AI adoption has also introduced new challenges that DBAs report more frequently than executives. These include added oversight, misalignment of AI workflows with daily processes, difficulties using AI tools due to poor data quality, and a lack of data governance or clear ownership.
Limiting Complexity and Creating Alignment
Modern DBAs face mounting challenges, but these pressures also create opportunities for transformation. Organisations that provide unified tools, AI-driven support, and ongoing training can turn reactive teams into strategic partners aligned with IT leadership. Those who move quickly gain a clear edge in managing complexity and driving business results.
“The data in this report outlines a reality in which the DBA role is growing more difficult due to the complexity of enterprise IT architectures, amplified by a persistent gap in viewpoint between DBAs and IT executives,” said Kevin Kline, Database Management Systems Expert, SolarWinds. “As organisations grow ever more dependent on data and the DBAs who manage that data, it is imperative for us to create a corporate culture that removes complexities and misalignments, setting the stage for true team success.”
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