
Image: bls.gov
An established software developer and website programmer, Mark Rymer serves as the vice president of Cooper and Cockerham (dba C2). Aside from performing his leadership tasks, Mark Rymer helps the company grow by practicing his information technology skills. Among his specializations are applications and database maintenance.
Database maintenance refers to the set of tasks intended to improve and keep a company or organization’s database in prime condition. Database maintenance may involve multiple tasks and routines, including checking for data errors, looking for hardware problems, updating internal data or statistics, and freeing up desk space, among others.
Database maintenance is crucial in ensuring that the entire database environment is performing efficiently and reliably at all times. There are two types of database maintenance: proactive and reactive. Proactive maintenance pertains to the regular checking of the database to detect any potential problems, while reactive maintenance is done when an actual problem threatens the database.
Database maintenance may also refer to activities meant to increase the value of data. It also involves optimization to ensure that unnecessary data do not interfere with the efficiency of the entire database.