From an blog that is worth reading anyway [1], this little bit about database middleware in GIS:

The continued presence of GIS database middleware in an era where SQL Server, Oracle, and Postgresql/PostGIS all come equipped with native spatial capabilities (the latter two handle raster) has important consequences. First, DBAs in IT want nothing to do with GIS implementations mediated by quirky middleware. So all of that training and background in database management best practices, etc. doesn’t reach the GIS department. Instead some GIS analyst with time-in-grade but with little database background and less SQL, is “managing” geospatial data via wizards and dialog windows. In our era of “endorsed skills” in LinkedIn, GIS remains the only branch of IT where folks talk confidently of database experience without having a rudimentary grasp of SQL, let alone views, triggers, and other everyday DBA tasking...

[1]: MapBrief by Brian Timoney -- http://mapbrief.com/2012/10/25/if-mapping-is-so-big-why-does-gis-feel-so-small/