What's the difference between DBA and DA?

Question

In categorization of users I have seen two different categorizations:

First one:

• End user
• DBA
• DBP

and Second one:

• End user
• DBA
• DA

What's the difference between DA and DBA ?

Answer 1

According to this and that, a DA is a Data Administrator. The DA is a buisness oriented individual more involved in requirements gathering, analysis, and design than the DBA. They establish the flow of data around the organization and between databases and other systems. Here is a section from the second site:

Database Administration

Any reasonably sized organization that relies on a database for its business processes will probably have a Database Administrator or DBA.

The DBA is responsible for:

• Installing and configuring the DBMS
• Assisting in the implementation of information systems
• Monitoring the performance of the database and tuning the DBMS for optimal performance Maintaining documentation including recording all changes to the database and DBMS.
• Ensuring data integrity is maintained and appropriate backups are made.

Thus a DBA is mainly concerned with the day to day operational aspects of database systems.

Data Administration

Many organizations, in addition to DBAs, will also have a Data Administrator. DAs are concerned with the data needs and data flows throughout the entire organization. Thus DAs are responsible for:

• Specifying data standards across databases
• Establishing policies: data usage, security and authorization, data flows into and out of the organization
• Assisting the application development process by identifying data resources in the organization
• Arbitrating the sharing of data across departments
• Increasing the return on an organization's data investment

Answer 2

My previous employer had MySQL Administrators and Data Administrators (DA).

While a MySQL Administrator was just another term for an operational DBA whose specialty was MySQL and performed the grunt work of making sure MySQL was up and running and just cared about data throughput, the DA was responsible for checking the cohesiveness and integrity of datasets from a logical standpoint.

For all intents and purposes, the terms Data Administrator and Data Analyst could be used interchanegably as the DA. Historically, a Data Analyst may have specific duties in terms of laying out ER Diagrams, Data Flow Charts, and things like these. The term Data Administrator may be somewhat newer and thus less defined.

The role of the DA differentiates itself from DBAs, who may be playing the role of both operational DBA and DA.