Why Should You Hire a Database Administrator?

Why would a company need to hire a dedicated database manager?

Not all companies feel like they need a DBA. There are companies that consider database administrators more of a luxury than a requirement. When you think about what a DBA does, it’s a fairly essential part of any business that has a system where their data is stored and managed via databases like SQL Server and Oracle.

A DBA makes sure that data is accessible by the right people, and that the data is organized in a meaningful way so that it brings value to the business. All confidential data needs to be managed to be secured. If you don’t have the right experience and skillset, then how do you know that your company’s data is secure and complaint with the legal regulations that are required? 

Could a CIO, or a director or head of IT be considered a designated database manager?

Absolutely, and we have seen this happen when a business does not have a database manager. The real question is if they SHOULD they be tasked with the database management? In all likelihood that person was brought on to lead the company’s technology direction and evolution, which does not always align with someone that is very deep in database architecture and management. Every business leader should be able to answer for themselves how valuable their company data is to the business. If that answer is ‘very valuable’ then wouldn’t you want someone that is skilled and experienced taking care of it for you? If not, then sure, someone that is a generalist and understands databases can fill the role of database management – but you need to make sure that somebody owns this role, otherwise nobody does.

In my opinion, the IT leadership should not be the database manager of an organization – however, they are integral in answering some of the most important questions about a company’s data, such as:

• Are we storing data that if stolen or lost could hurt the business?
• Is the data used by the business to drive profit and growth?
• Do we know how we would recover data if lost or corrupted?
• Do we know who has access to what data and why?

When IT leadership has an understanding of these questions, then a database administrator can execute and maintain the answers.

What if I don’t have enough data to justify a dedicated database administrator?

Database management is essential to a business but does not necessarily need to be a full-time job. A vendor such as Solvaria can provide support services for a block of hours or for a single project depending on your organization’s needs. Since our team of DBAs are all senior level, you know you are getting a mature team that have already experienced working with multiple clients and feel confident in their execution. If your database needs do not justify a full-time hire, then having a vendor that can scale up and down based on your need contracts gives you the flexibility an employee may not have.

I already have a full time DBA team but none of them are 24/7. However the behind the scenes aspects of our business run 24/7 and when a back up fails or a job fails at 3AM it is a real problem. We feel like we are always on call.

Restless nights aren’t productive for anyone, and there are options to ensure your database is running efficiently without being on call. You can either:

• Hire a dedicated overnight employee who can monitor the database as your team is offline
• Use a vendor who provides 24/7 database support

The benefit of using a vendor such as Solvaria for overnight support is the ability to add additional resources as necessary. Our team of expert DBAs can handle vacation backfill, holidays, and weekends that may be beyond the capacity of an overnight DBA. Easily adding additional resources can apply to advanced project services as well. If your IT team needs additional help on upgrades, updates, migrations, or patching, working with a partner that has “been there, done that” alleviates stress from your internal team.

Database health is essential, whether you have an internal team or decide to outsource your database management. To learn more about the services and and support that Solvaria can bring to your environment, visit our 24×7 Database Support page via the link below for more information.

Considering hiring a dedicated database administrator?

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