The Goal: Removing SQL Server Constraints
“It takes forever to login to the clinical application. I have patients waiting. And I have to sit there waiting for the application to let me in. It’s not good.” Or, “I click the report and wait, and wait, and wait. Finally, I give up and hit Refresh. Nothing happens. Can’t you fix it?”
Sound familiar? Many of our new clients come to us because they are experiencing slowness in a key application.
We can help. It’s a core tenet of our SEROShield DBA Team as a Service. We assist them in getting the most out of their SQL Server investment by helping them to create a well-configured, secure, and reliable SQL Server environment that perform well.
But, there’s more to it than that.
Removing SQL Server constraints
Recently, I re-read The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt. I first read the book 30 years ago as a requirement for one of my MBA classes. I forget which class, but I remember the book.
The book, written as a business fable, explores Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints. It’s set in a manufacturing facility, so a first glance it’s not evident how this could apply to our small team of DBAs delivering SQL Server services to clients. We don’t have raw materials coming, work stations refining the materials, and finished goods leaving on big trucks.
But, as I reflected on it, every business, every process, is constrained by something. The SERO Group has constraints. Our clients have constraints. So, the questions become – how to identify the constraints, what needs to be done about them, and then how to make the changes.
At first glance, it seemed that we remove constraints from our clients’ SQL Server environment, making each server faster, more reliable, and more secure.
Yes. Certainly, we help with that. I’m confident that our clients’ SQL Servers are better because of our services. In fact, they tell us so.
Removing Team Constraints
But I think there’s more to it than that. For our clients, we help remove a constraint at the team, or Human Resources, level.
Some clients cannot justify a DBA
Many of our clients cannot justify the expense of a full-time Database Administrator. But they know that an ignored SQL Server is a not a good SQL Server. So, some companies ask a developer or system administrator also take care of the SQL Server in their spare time.
When it needs patching, they patch. When it gets slow, they Google. When it stops working, they get very nervous, and often lose data.
Their business is hampered, or constrained, by not having a SQL Server DBA on staff.
Some clients could justify a DBA
Other clients do have the budget for a SQL Server DBA. They can afford to hire a mid-level DBA to join their team. But they know that having a single DBA is also having a single point of failure. It’s the “two is one and one is none” concept. What happens with that DBA goes on vacation? Or wins the lottery? Or decides that the grass is greener at another company?
And what happens when that DBA reaches the end of their knowledge? Who can they turn to for another set of eyes on the problem, or to get advice from?
We help those clients by removing Human Resources related constraints. We remove the constraint of having to budget for, recruit, interview, hire, onboard, train, manage, and eventually replace a team of experienced, senior DBAs.
We eliminate all that. And that’s no small constraint.
Want to learn more about how we serve our clients?
So, while we make our clients’ SQL Server environment better. We do more than that. We allow our clients to focus on their core mission. We support their backend SQL infrastructure so they don’t have to. And we offload the HR burdens of attracting, training, and keeping a team of DBAs on staff.
Want to learn more? It’s easy and there is no obligation.
Contact us to get started.