Here's why outsourcing your DBA functions should be your next move...

Why Outsource?

There are plenty of examples in everyday life where you could outsource a task which in reality could be done by yourself.  Window cleaning comes to mind – how hard can it be!  However, it’s a job many of us don’t mind paying someone else to do regularly.  Why?

The first thing that springs to is the hassle of buying and storing a ladder tall enough to reach the top windows, then of course there’s the risk of climbing up the ladder and falling off.  Not to mention the time spent when, let’s face it, there could be more interesting things to do with your Saturday afternoon.

Keeping your Database Administration (DBA) function in-house is no different. Committing to supporting a variety of ever-changing technologies in-house can be risky if staff attrition is high and knowledge periodically disappears from the business.

Finding, training and retaining DBAs to firefight every day unnecessarily burns time (excuse the pun).  Outsourcing releases organisations to move away from mundane tasks that just “keep the lights on” to things that provide value to the business and its customers... I’m talking about using that free time to innovate!

Businesses who innovate make it easier to grow, regardless of the size of the organisation.   In other words, spend that Saturday afternoon exercising or developing relationships with friends and loved ones through new experiences, not cleaning windows!

Time to Breathe, Space to Innovate

Internal DBAs should spend their time tuning applications and helping with data modelling designs, not wasting valuable time and energy troubleshooting, backing up and recovering data.  Vital as these tasks are, they won’t provide the business the differential it needs to succeed.

With the rise of digital platforms that need to be available 24/7 the cost of running a DBA team can be expensive.  When you consider the average salary of a DBA, national insurance contributions, training, benefits and overheads the annual cost per DBA can amount to £79,000 per annum.  Think of the cost when you need 2 or 3 more!

Why DSP-Explorer?

DSP-Explorer Managed Services offer cost effective, tailored, remote DBA services which can either complement the existing DBA team or replace this in-house function all together.  It won’t cost an arm and a leg to have DSP-Explorer on board to undertake the frequent tedious – but important – housekeeping tasks which are essential to maintain the health, performance, security and resilience of your database technology investment.  Through DSP-Explorer’s experience, clever automation and economies of scale, the peace of mind and space to innovate will be worth every penny.

The rate of change in technology at the moment is phenomenal, and at DSP-Explorer we have the advantage of having worked with customers of all shapes and sizes which necessitates an understanding of all types of architectures and versions of databases.  This is more relevant today with the advent of emerging technologies such as Cloud, Blockchain and AI.  Ask yourself, what’s more important to the business; building a “business as usual” IT function or helping your organisation to grow through innovation?

For more information on outsourcing your DBA function head to the DSP-Explorer website.  Otherwise, I’d be happy to continue the conversation in person so feel free to get in contact via jerald.aidoo@dsp.co.uk.