The Database Administration group stands alone. The DBA cannot report directly to the manager of software development. This creates a conflict of interest. This alignment allows the manager of development to direct the duties of the DBA. A software manager may desire to bypass change management or override the recommendations of the Database Management team. Tasks and projects need to be discussed rather than assigned.

The Database Administration group should also not be under networking. A Networking Manager typically does not understand enough about databases to accurately plan for projects and tasks.

The database group works WITH all groups and needs to stand alone in the organizational structure reporting to IT Management.

In large meetings, the database group needs accurate representation for proper planning. If they do not stand alone in the org, who will be able to discuss what type of hardware is warranted? DR issues? availability? Scalability? These issues differ dramatically when you are dealing with a file server, mail server or database server.

Certainly the software engineers are NOT qualified to speak on behalf of the database backend.