Do you have a hard-to-buy-for DBA on your list? Whether you’re a manager looking for something to give your talented people, or someone with a special DBA in your life, we know it’s not always easy to choose the right gift. So we thought we’d make things a bit easier by creating this handy last-minute gift guide with some creative suggestions just for DBAs.
What does a busy DBA need more than anything? Organizations rely on them to keep their business-critical databases available and performing optimally 24/7/365. So if you asked a DBA what they need most, they’d likely say they need to clone themselves in order to handle the massive demands on their time.
When we asked around here at Pythian to see what our DBAs wanted most this holiday season, the response was overwhelming. A lot of the suggestions were focussed on items that would make them more comfortable at their workstations, where they spend countless hours keeping client databases running smoothly.
Here are just a few of the suggestions we received:
For the DBA superhero
Just because DBAs really are superheroes.
… And because every superhero needs an action figure
Custom action figure, MyFaceOnAFigure.com, $29.99-$119.99
Tablet stand
What DBA doesn’t have multiple devices running at any given time? They may have a couple of computers to run different operating systems, and perhaps a tablet to keep up with their email and reference material. Great for holding either a tablet or smartphone, this tablet stand will help keep desktop clutter in check.
Anker tablet stand, Amazon.com, $39.99
Cup warmer
There’s no time to keep refreshing your coffee when you’re busy keeping critical databases up and running. This cup warmer will keep your fav DBA’s coffee piping hot while they work.
Mug warmer, Mr. Coffee, Amazon.com, $10
Help them explain what they do with a T-shirt
Sometimes a bit of clarification is needed about the role of the DBA. If you know a DBA who’s tired of directing co-workers to the help desk, this t-shirt may help.
DBA t-shirt, CafePress.ca, $37.50
Just for SQL experts
Don’t even think about giving this mug to the NoSQL database expert on your team. SQL aficionados are proud of their unique language. This “I speak SQL” mug is the perfect way to say “thank you for a great job” in SQL.
When you need something to put out those big database fires
We hope our DBA friends don’t have any actual fires to put out. But this fire extinguisher is pretty symbolic of the critical, urgent, and often unforeseen work DBAs engage in every day. Thanks for the suggestion Warner!
Fires extinguisher, Home Depot, $62.99
A little help from your friends at Pythian
Give your hard-working DBAs a break from their pagers with some help from Pythian Database Managed Services. Our elite teams of DBAs and infrastructure specialists are experienced in even the most complex production environments, across all types of databases, infrastructures, and applications — on-premise and on the cloud. We can help you fill the gaps in your in-house team, providing full operational support, 24x7x365. The result is a stable, consistent environment that is highly available and protected over the long run.
** Note: This post is not intended to promote any particular product, and we are not affiliated in any way with the vendors of these items.
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