Where will object technology drive data administration?

Several unifications that the application development process has long needed are now occurring, due to developments in object technologies and standards. These will (gradually) change the way data intensive applications are developed, reduce databases' prominence in this process, and change data administration's goals and participants. At the same time, the database community needs to ensure that its experiences are leveraged and its concerns are met within the new methodologies and toolsets. We discuss these issues, and illustrate how they apply to a portion of the Department of Defense (DOD). We also examine things that object technology won't accomplish, and identify research problems whose solution would enable further progress.