Database administrators and developers face increased workloads as businesses continue to expand the size and scope of data they collect and manage. As the data landscape grows, so does the complexity of the tasks your database team needs to perform to maintain their systems and extract the maximum value from the information they contain.
A lack of proper tools and strategy will hinder your team’s ability to successfully maintain your organization’s databases and leverage their data. Let’s take a look at how the toolset offered by an application programming interface (API) can be used to implement an automation strategy to improve an enterprise’s ability to negotiate the complex demands of the market.
The Benefits of Business Process Automation
In today’s business world, a company’s IT department is a critical component that factors into its ability to remain competitive and serve its customers’ requirements. Your IT staff and the business as a whole can reap many advantages through automation. Some of the benefits your company can expect to enjoy through process automation include the following.
Increased productivity is one of the most apparent benefits of automating business tasks and processes. Eliminating the need for manual intervention in standard and repetitive procedures frees up your organization’s human resources for more value-added work.
Time and cost savings are directly associated with process automation. Once the automated procedures are in place, they can be executed through scheduling or used when necessary to quickly address problems without delay. Time and money are saved by rapidly correcting issues and keeping your systems performing optimally.
Improved customer satisfaction should be the goal of all IT departments. Automation can help reduce system downtime and streamline processes to improve the overall user experience.
Higher quality procedures can be developed and optimized by your teams over time. Once they are satisfied with their solution, automating it ensures the same level of performance every time it is required to be executed.
Operational stability is fostered by a strategy of intelligent automation. New team members can take advantage of automated procedures to get up to speed and the organization continues its level of performance without any interruption.
There is no denying the benefits that your business can achieve through automating processes where possible. Now, let’s take a look at a viable tool to assist your database team to enact automation on their systems. We’re talking about using an API.
Using APIs to Implement Automation
An application programming interface (API) is a set of constructs that are used to build or enhance software applications. It is essentially a framework of protocols and routines that dictate the manner in which components of an application interact. An API offers a window into the inner workings of an application that a programmer can leverage to achieve better performance from the system. One specific use of an API is to create scripts and procedures designed to automate processes.
The functionality of an API can often be duplicated through basic programming techniques. Using an API usually offers a more consistent and optimized method of accessing data than what can be accomplished with homegrown code. An API also comes with documentation so that others can more easily understand your procedures if needed. If modifications are required in the future, reaching for the documentation is preferred over trying to unravel someone’s idiosyncratic programming style.
Aqua Data Studio’s API for Databases
Aqua Data Studio (ADS) provides an integrated development environment (IDE) for relational, cloud, and NoSQL databases. Among its many features are OpenAPIs designed to facilitate database management functions. It offers your database team a valuable tool for implementing automation.
A native scripting environment called AquaScripts is used to create AquaProjects within ADS. Templates are available to get you started on a wide variety of projects such as scripts that execute on multiple servers and exporting data. All of the functionality of the OpenAPIs can be incorporated into your scripts.
Aqua Data Studio comes with a set of AquaProject solution examples which serve as jumping-off points that can be tailored to fit your needs. You can develop scripts to automate tasks such as exporting database schemas and tables, compare schemas and identify differences, backup and encrypt SVN projects. It allows you to easily create scripts to automate many procedures and enhance the productivity of your IT team.
It’s a versatile database tool with features that extend far beyond its capabilities to streamline your automation efforts. ADS is a valuable addition to your database team’s toolbox.