What bothers me is the need to have a product that the accidental and/or average DBA can use. DB Servers are maintained by people that have been trained and understand the inner workings of what they are using. It isn't like being a road sweeper: Simply pick up a brush and sweep.

Without the in-depth knowledge of memory architecture, index management, backup and recovery strategies along with at least basic knowledge of database design how could they hope to perform the job they need to on mission-critical information management systems. And lets face it: Databases represent for most companies a mission-critical investment that helps keep them mobile in a dynamic market.

This is one of the problems Microsoft has had with Windows (but only one :)). Because via the GUI everything is relatively easy to do, everyone that tampered with a Windows Server called themselves Administrators. They didn't think about the security implications associated with these machines. As long as people could access resources it must be working, right?

Do we really want that sort of attitude with our database servers simply because someone wants something to be made simpler or more intuitive? I find the SSMS intuitive enough. I understand the wording used, I know where to find the information that will help me in my work and I can intelligently argue one opinion against another so that the best solution can be found to a given problem.

I think the best thing that can happen is that these accidental and/or average DBAs realise their need to learn and that bosses realise the need for them to learn.