Monitoring production databases is important when it's the systems are in production. Operations departments know that catching issues early, being proactive, and having data to troubleshoot issues make their job easier. Not having these things makes their job much more stressful.

Most of us work with data in some way and the availability of that is important. Certainly, security, integrity, and performance matter as well, but availability is key. Many organizations don't have any monitoring systems set up. Instead, they troubleshoot problems when someone files a ticket or calls. I'm amazed at this, though I know building and managing a monitoring system is hard and purchasing third-party products can be outside of your budget. Still, having something in place makes everyone's job easier.

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