Database Architects

Have you ever thought about how an app like Facebook can recognize more than a billion people who use it every day as if they were all one single person? How is there no mix-up between the data of its millions of users? Why, every time you log into your account, do you find your name exactly as it was, your photo exactly as it was, with no changes to your friends list or the pages and people you follow? Simply because it's like you. Has it ever happened that you looked at your father, mother, or siblings and didn't recognize them? Have you ever suddenly been unable to tell the difference between food and drink, or the various things you're used to? Of course not — you're able to remember and recognize everything because you have a memory in your mind capable of recording everything that happens in your life and recognizing it the moment you see it again. Facebook and various social media platforms have a memory just like yours, called "databases," where the various data and information related to users is recorded and stored, and through it the app recognizes the user and lets them access their account and data. Databases are one of the clearest examples of just how far human progress and technology have come. Every sector and industry depends on them to record and organize all their information and data — they're what allow individuals' data to be recorded in schools, universities, banks, hospitals, government departments, e-commerce sites, and nearly every institution. Every daily transaction, every piece of product information, and practically everything that happens anywhere is recorded in databases. The whole world clearly understands the value and importance of databases, which is why there isn't a single company or institution that doesn't employ the experts responsible for designing and building the databases specific to their operations. These databases are essentially a set of computer programs and systems designed by engineers called "database architects" — they're the ones responsible for building and developing them to serve the business goals they're designed for, and they're the ones who handle fixing and maintaining them if anything goes wrong. So today we'll be talking about this profession, one of the most important jobs in our world.

Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa