Redgate Report Highlights Rising Security Concerns in Multi-Database Environments

CAMBRIDGE, England, Feb. 11, 2025 — The growing urgency of safeguarding sensitive data, navigating regulatory compliance, and increasing adoption of multiple database platforms are just some of the concerns impacting IT leaders as they manage growing database complexities, according to The State of the Database Landscape, a major new survey from end-to-end Database DevOps provider Redgate.

38% of IT teams are concerned about data security and access controls when managing different technologies, an increase of 12% year-on-year. In fact, one in five (21%) say they won’t adopt more than one database type, despite their advantages, simply because they’re concerned about security and compliance issues.

Embracing Multiple Database Platforms – and Dealing with Complexity

Driven by the need for flexibility, cost-savings and serving different use cases, almost three quarters (74%) of IT teams now use two or more database platforms, with a quarter (25%) of respondents using more than four database platforms. However, the sheer complexity of the systems being managed highlights the crucial need for robust database management strategies to ensure data consistency, security and compliance. The research uncovered the top four most popular databases that organizations have introduced over the past two years: the open-source platforms PostgreSQL and MySQL, the non-relational database MongoDB, and cloud-based data platform Snowflake.

“People tasked with database management continue to work at speed in an increasingly complex environment. I’m concerned that these increased pressures are exposing organizations to significant risks, which can be exacerbated by ineffective internal operations and collaboration. Our research shows that 68% of teams do not have formal processes in place to share best practices, further increasing the likelihood of human error and security vulnerabilities,” said David Gummer, Redgate’s Chief Product Officer.

The proliferation of database types and continued pressure to deliver apps and services at speed means testing is a core component of modern database management processes. 71% of organizations are using manual methods to create test data – which is not only time consuming, but also a high-risk strategy. IT leaders are all too aware of the challenges this creates on a personal level, with one in four (25%) concerned about the pressure that managing test data puts on their teams.

Despite these security and multi-platform database challenges, the good news is that organizations have a growing awareness of data security measures, with implementation of secure practices increasing across industries; only 14% of organizations now have no approach for handling sensitive data, a substantial decrease from 35% in 2023.

Ongoing Skills Gap

“One of the other big surprises from this year’s survey was the finding that skillset requirements and individual or team training are the biggest challenges organizations face in managing different database technologies,” continues Gummer.

“44% of data professionals would like professional development opportunities to be provided weekly or monthly, but two thirds of people (67%) cite lack of time as the main barrier to participating in training. Organizations need to prioritize professional development and recognize that the skills gap is a critical challenge. The ultimate goal of data protection and delivering for the business is to ensure the right people are in place to manage data securely and compliantly in an increasingly complex and diverse technology estate.”

Security concerns continue to influence business practices as organizations weigh up the benefits of AI adoption. While 69% plan on adopting AI capabilities in the next two years, concerns about the usage of AI in database management have risen sharply, with 61% of respondents citing data security and privacy as a key concern, up from 41% in 2023.

To discover the latest insights and trends in the database landscape, download Redgate’s The State of the Database Landscape report to read more.

About The State of the Database Landscape Survey

Conducted in late 2024, the State of the Database Landscape Survey attracted over 2500 responses from Developers, DBAs, IT professionals and the C-level, covering every sector and company size across the world. This is the seventh survey Redgate has run on the topic.

Source: Redgate