All the Benefits Of An Expert Database Administrator At A Fraction Of The Price
Affirma Consulting provides remote database administration services within two separate service packages. The two packages are differentiated in the scope and scale of their services. The packages offered are the Basic DBA Service and the Premium DBA Service.
Affirma’s Basic DBA Service
- The Basic DBA Service starts at $2,000 per month per SQL Server Instance. The service covers database backup, file cleanup and consistency checks, index reorganizing and rebuilds, as well as a weekly error log review and SQL server job reviews.
- The Basic DBA Service also includes 5 monthly hours dedicated to patches, configurations, and generalized database tasks.
- The Basic DBA Service also provides on-call DBA support Monday-Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM PST. Emergency support is provided on an hourly basis.
Affirma’s Premium DBA Service
- The Premium DBA Service begins at $6,000 per month per SQL Server Instance.
- The service covers all of the service offerings within the Basic DBA Service as well as 20 monthly hours dedicated to SQL Server patches, security configurations, and other database tasks.
- The Premium DBA Service also provides quarterly SQL Server health checks.
- The Premium DBA Service provides 24/7 on-call DBA support.
Why Use Remote DBA as a Service
Using a remote database administrator or DBA, can bring several immediate and long-term benefits to an organization. Databases are complex infrastructures that require expertise and care to function properly. Unfortunately, full-time database administrators can be an expensive drain on organizations. Consequently, organizations can enjoy considerable savings and other benefits by moving database administration to a remote DBA.
Improved Database Performance
One of the most immediate benefits of using remote DBA’s is an improvement in overall database performance. The use of a remote DBA allows organizations greater control over their databases and data-related issues. Remote DBA services often have access to tools and expertise beyond the reach of in-house departments.
Improved Availability
Using a remote DBA will result in a much wider availability than the use of in-house staff. To fully power an in-house DBA for 24 hours, 7 days a week would be an astronomical expense. For remote DBA services, though, even the most affordable packages can include 24/7 database support.
Greater Productivity
Using a remote DBA allows your organization to reallocate resources away from in-house database management, and into other more productive channels. This allows for resources that would have gone into database management, to be used to identify and solve other problems with greater expertise and attention. Enabling a remote DBA also will free up time among IT and BI staff to focus on different needs, further increasing organizational productivity.
Increased Expertise
Remote DBA’s give your team greater experience, expertise, and technical knowledge without adding to your headcount or in-house staff. Remote DBA’s also give your team protection against potential disruptions such as sick days or vacation time.
Reduced Costs
Finally, the use of a remote DBA can dramatically lower the costs of database administration. Full-time database administrators are talented but expensive. For organizations that do not have the database needs required for a full-time DBA, using remote teams can dramatically lower costs. Some publications estimate that using a remote DBA can lower database costs by as much as 60%.
