It's pretty interesting to read (and pick out) the responses written by techies - response ranging from "No way, absolutely not!" to "Sure, come on in, Oracle will take care of your crap SQL".
The former is the sort of reply that paints IT in a bad light. As technologist, we do not have a particularly good reputation anyway (see The IT Crowd) and by blatantly rejecting a request like this we are not exactly be doing ourselves any favours. The latter response is perhaps a little too cooperative. There are definitely technical issues to consider, first and foremost the priorities of the database and its related systems. Any other services should be evaluated carefully before making a decision.
My approach on this would be to take a step back from the technology and actually *talk* to the customer. Try to understand their requirements - what exactly are they trying to do here? What is their overal goal/objective with the data? Often you'll find that the user has such a narrow-minded view on the world that they make very specific requests (such as this) when their actual aim is something completely different.
It may be that they are simply using SQL because historically that is the only tool they have had at their disposal for querying the data. Perhaps what they are really after is a better reporting/MIS tool. Maybe putting Crystal Reports or Business Objects on top of your database is a better way to go.
If after all this, they really do want direct database access, then the technical discussion would be pertinent. Do it make sense for them to query your database? How about replicating part or all of your database to their site?
But before you move forward on any action points, depending on the management/ownership structure in your area, you may want to escalate to superiors/team leads before proceeding.
Slashdot Mirror
It's pretty interesting to read (and pick out) the responses written by techies - response ranging from "No way, absolutely not!" to "Sure, come on in, Oracle will take care of your crap SQL".
The former is the sort of reply that paints IT in a bad light. As technologist, we do not have a particularly good reputation anyway (see The IT Crowd) and by blatantly rejecting a request like this we are not exactly be doing ourselves any favours. The latter response is perhaps a little too cooperative. There are definitely technical issues to consider, first and foremost the priorities of the database and its related systems. Any other services should be evaluated carefully before making a decision.
My approach on this would be to take a step back from the technology and actually *talk* to the customer. Try to understand their requirements - what exactly are they trying to do here? What is their overal goal/objective with the data? Often you'll find that the user has such a narrow-minded view on the world that they make very specific requests (such as this) when their actual aim is something completely different.
It may be that they are simply using SQL because historically that is the only tool they have had at their disposal for querying the data. Perhaps what they are really after is a better reporting/MIS tool. Maybe putting Crystal Reports or Business Objects on top of your database is a better way to go.
If after all this, they really do want direct database access, then the technical discussion would be pertinent. Do it make sense for them to query your database? How about replicating part or all of your database to their site?
But before you move forward on any action points, depending on the management/ownership structure in your area, you may want to escalate to superiors/team leads before proceeding.
Hope that helps.