1 of 13
12 Tips for Making Remote Database Administration Easier
by Don Sears
2 of 13
No Title
Make sure to review service levels as well as price. Service levels can vary widely by provider.
3 of 13
No Title
Assess your environment. Determine segments best suited for 24/7 support. Lower traffic, more stable segments may not require 24/7 support.
4 of 13
No Title
Make sure it's scalable. Your support contract needs to remain cost-effective while you grow. Sometimes, it may be more cost-efficient to add an additional FTE.
5 of 13
No Title
Create a list of expectations up front. If the vendor's initial service offering doesn't include what you'd like to see, ask. Not every offering will match requirements.
6 of 13
No Title
Start small. Ask for a "trial" segment of your environment on a month-to-month contract. This will allow you to expand scope as needed.
7 of 13
No Title
Evaluate the vendor's team and make sure they have seasoned, full-time remote DBAs.
8 of 13
No Title
Does the vendor conduct regular on-site customer visits? Regular on-site visits allow the remote provider to be an extension of your team and understand how to handle emergencies.
9 of 13
No Title
Make sure you have network/security team that can open firewall ports securely for remote DBA. Always require a VPN.
10 of 13
No Title
Make sure that you have single point of contact within your company who can manage the relationship between you and the remote DBA team.
11 of 13
No Title
Make sure that you have a ticketing system that can track the requests for your remote DBA tasks.
12 of 13
No Title
Consider and analyze your change management procedures - have clear procedures in place.
13 of 13
No Title
Does the provider offer on-shore, on-site and on-demand remote DBA resources, so they are available when you need them?
