I agree with the thrust of the article. The problem isn't just SQL Server though... One way of looking at this is to call the problem "the drains"! 😉 People like to forget "the drains" exist. So long as they are working, nobody cares. They don't get maintenance, and in many cases they don't even get periodic inspections. Life goes on. People would prefer to spend money and time on re-painting the front door.

"The drains" aren't interesting, they are not exciting and they are not visible. In some cases the problem is made worse because the data professionals do too good a job with limited resources! I really don't know how you fix that one! Of course, "the drains" become an issue when they block, things get smelly and people start getting cholera.

I guess the solution is to communicate to _value_ of what is inside the database and especially its value when it becomes unavailable or damaged. I expect most people here understand that value, but communicating it is hard. Once the value is accepted then sensible proactive solutions like having a designated _real_ dba (as opposed to the accidental kind, like me) or regular inspections by such a person become a sensible economic choice rather than simply an expense.