At DSP, we are in the business of delivering Oracle Database Support and SQL Server Support – we fulfil the role of a team of 24/7 DBAs for well-known and established companies. Our client list is substantial, filled with market-leading brands who have decided to share some responsibility for the upkeep of their mission-critical data platforms.
These include:
Finance Houses – Brokers and Hedge Funds with critical data requiring guaranteed support in the event of downtime
Retail Firms – Requiring 24*7, 365 Database Support and maintenance
Global Property Firms – Looking to consolidate IT and operations
Not-for-Profit – Wanting a cost-effective alternative to increasing headcount
Our market is big – however, with prospects new to DSP, we sometimes come across the age-old blocker of price; “It’s cheaper for me to hire a DBA”.
The thing is with any type of Managed Service is that you get an all-in price. Your invoice will be the only thing you pay for. Hiring internally means you get indirect and opportunity costs thrown in as well as the direct salary/benefits/HR costs.
So let’s look at some of the costs of hiring a single DBA (who, by the way, can only provide you with business hours DBA availability):
| Salary | A competent DBA with around 6 years' experience | £45,000 |
| Recruitment Fees | 18% of Salary typical Agency fee | £8,100 |
| Employers NI | 13.8% - Employers Contribution to National Insurance | £6,210 |
| Benefits | 7% of salary - Pension, Healthcare, Dental, Expenses, etc. | £3,150 |
| Training | Oracle/SQL and other technical training | £4,000 |
| Deskspace, Computer, Mobile | Mobile: £50pm, Laptop: £1500, deskspace/building etc: £10pm | £1,220 |
| HR On-Boarding/Management Costs | 10% of Salary (Interview process, documentation, legalities, site training/orientation) | £4,500 |
| Absenteesim cover | Contractor costs for loss of cover from Holiday, sickness, training. Estimated 10 day contractor costs at 500pd | £5,000 |
| TOTAL COSTS FOR BUSINESS HOURS DATABASE ADMINISTRATION | £77,180 | |
With 24*7 availability, you’ll need at least 3 DBAs. A cheaper way would be to create a rota with 2 DBAs, however, this will not give you true 24/7 support. And when there is an incident, you’ll suffer capacity issues afterwards.
There are other costs, such as opportunity costs, your costs/time in interviewing and staff attrition costs (e.g. if your typical staff turnover is high, then over the years the above costs can double) that could be factored in, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ve stuck to the basics.
Give DSP’s Managed Service Practice a call on 0203 289 721 for a chat about the options we could put together for you – you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised with what you can get.