Databases are used by businesses across every industry in the digital age, and yet there are still plenty of organizations that do not give much thought to the type of database they use and what a well chosen solution could mean for their day to day operations and long term prospects.

To encourage you to care more about the database selection and upgrade process, here is a rundown of the main reasons that it makes sense to invest time and money in getting this right.

Dealing with ever-growing data volumes is easier

If your database is old, outdated or otherwise inflexible, it will be a real hindrance to your business, because the fact of the matter is that more data is being generated today than ever before, and having a central place to store and access it is crucial.

The best way to keep up with your data management obligations is to pick a database service that is not just good enough for the workloads it will have to handle today, but also capable of adapting to the way that your requirements will change in the future.

This is why many organizations are choosing to use cloud-powered platforms or hybrid-ready solutions like SQL Server, as Kevin Kline explains. You can move away from the limitations of on-premises hardware by opting for a setup that is flexible and future-proof, meaning that no matter how much data floods into your firm, you will be in a position to store and leverage it, rather than being overwhelmed.

Generating actionable insights is achievable

It is not enough to simply house the data your business generates from various sources; you also need to be able to scrutinize this and work out what the information tells you about everything from customer habits and preferences to staffing costs, in-house inefficiencies and even safety issues.

A good database will be one which is capable of allowing you to implement a robust and wide-ranging strategy for handling analytics, which in turn will mean that insights gleaned can be acted upon going forward. Not doing this is a problem because you will not be extracting any of the value from your data, but rather allowing it to go to waste. Since some insights will be time-sensitive, having a database that works well should be a priority for businesses of all sizes.

Snappy performance will boost staff productivity

It is likely that your database will be vital to the work of many employees at different levels of the organization, so their productivity will partly hinge on how well this resource performs from moment to moment.

If your database is getting long in the tooth or has complications with capacity limits and interoperability, then it will slow down the inner workings of your business and stop you realizing the full potential of your various teams and departments.

Conversely, if you choose a database wisely, this will catalyze the way that staff fulfill their duties and thus make the entire company more efficient, agile and responsive as a result. Every second wasted waiting for user info to load, invoice information to be retrieved and media content to be pulled from the server will cost you cash, so it is worth avoiding this through investment in resilient database resources.

Customer satisfaction will improve

High quality database services can have a multifaceted impact on customer satisfaction levels, applying to new customers on their first interactions with your brand as well as to returning customers who may become loyal, lifelong supporters of your business depending on how well subsequent correspondence is orchestrated.

Whether you are hoping to offer current and prospective customers a slick experience when they use your website to find out about your business and place orders, or you are running a customer-facing application that has to be intuitive and responsive, then a good database should be the foundation of your efforts.

For all of these reasons and many more, database selection is not something you should rush, nor something you should put off when it is clear that an upgrade is needed, as the more you delay the more you will be missing out.