[jgr447]

Before rdbms became a commodity, companies would build them in house and required very specialized skills.

Then it became a commodity and now you can just use postgresql for a basic web app without knowing much about dbs.

Start adding scale and availability requirements in the mix, and you're back in need of specialized knowledge on indices, query planning, disk access patterns and db admin in general.

Same for cloud providers imho: you can throw an app online quicker than ever before, but as things get more complex you will still need an understanding of infrastructure, network, availability, security etc.