While all of an organization’s IT staffers are important, none is harder to come by or more coveted than the Oracle database administrator. Given Oracle’s complexity and the prevalence of the company’s products in the enterprise, it’s no surprise that this Gartner report, “Are Oracle DBAs worth special treatment?” was the fourth most-popular article in CIO Republic during 2000.
This week we’re featuring the five most popular articles in CIO Republic last year. So far, our countdown this week included:

  • Number 5: “Are you an e-mail pack rat? Better police that policy”

    • Check back with us tomorrow as we name the number 3 story for CIOs in 2000.
    The report—aimed at CIOs, HR executives, compensation specialists, technical recruiters, IT HR managers, senior IT managers, and e-business executives—urges organizations to tailor their compensation of Oracle DBAs according to the demand for their work.

    Using data from a 1999 market compensation survey produced by people3, a Gartner company, the report states that DBA positions are not only the most difficult to recruit, but also take the longest to fill—4.8 months. Moreover, 63 percent of respondents reported that Oracle is the hardest skill to find, followed by UNIX and C++, which both trail by at least 15 percentage points.

    To find out more about Gartner’s take on these compensation issues, check out “Are Oracle DBAs worth special treatment?”
    In 2001, would you like more advice on the legal implications of IT policies? Or would you prefer more moderated discussions by analysts and other IT professionals? TechRepublic is a community of IT professionals, so our article and discussion ideas often come from TechRepublic members. Let us know what you’d like to see on TechRepublic in 2001 by e-mailing us or posting your suggestions below.