As Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, once put it: “to be prepared is half the victory”. In that sense, maintaining an IT infrastructure is no different from writing a book or fighting a battle. Databases are one of the most vital parts of any company’s infrastructure, so it’s highly recommended to be prepared for any issues. In this blog, we will discuss what a database maintenance contract is, which services are included, and what the benefits are compared to regularly scheduled and in-house database maintenance. 

What is a database maintenance contract? 

A database maintenance contract is a service agreement between a company and a database provider. The agreement outlines the various services that the service provider will perform to keep the databases safe and accessible. These contracts are typically part of a managed services offering, so they tend to be a continuous service in the background rather than an emergency on-demand repair. 

The types of services that are offered vary between providers and their service offering levels, ranging from reactive to proactive. The possibilities include but are not limited to preventive maintenance, platform monitoring, patch management, integrity verification, performance management, and backup and recovery management. 

Database maintenance contracts are outsourced to an external provider to replace an internal database team, or as an addition to in-house capabilities and expertise to unburden internal teams. Most organisations use these contracts because they do not have the required in-house knowledge, cannot provide 24/7 monitoring and protection themselves, or want to free up time for innovation. 

What are the benefits of a maintenance contract? 

Maintenance contracts offer several advantages compared to in-house database employees. Because database maintenance is outsourced to an external provider, companies will no longer have to worry about the availability of a single DBA. Instead, they have an expert available round the clock, often depending on SLAs that ensure business continuity. This means that any issues will be resolved quickly, and downtime in case of severe issues will be limited.  

By relying on an external provider, companies will free up budget for innovative projects that address business needs. With the latest knowledge of database versions and features at their disposal, they will no longer have to invest in hiring, onboarding, and education. Because of the war for talent, these processes have become both extensive and expensive.  

Having an expert assist you also helps to deal with the all-too-common issue of the “accidental DBA”. These are employees from the IT department who were assigned to a role as a DBA over time or by circumstance. While these people are motivated, they unfortunately tend to not have the necessary free time to retrain and stay up to date with the latest technologies. 

Why should companies invest in a maintenance contract?   

In most cases, the cost of a single full-time employee (FTE) will equal or surpass that of a maintenance contract. And even if employing a single FTE is cheaper, it does not come with the benefits listed above. Compared to services that are also outsourced but on-demand, there is also the added benefit of response time. 

Instead of having to wait until your assigned day of the week or risking substantial ad-hoc visit fees, companies will be serviced within a matter of hours depending on the issue’s urgency. It’s comparable to roadside assistance for a car. Of course, cars need a yearly check-up at their local garage to make that everything is still running. However, it’s still reassuring to know that you’ll be covered when something does go wrong between scheduled appointments. 

For businesses where an offline database results in a significant loss of profit and reputation with their customers, maintenance contracts are therefore a no-brainer. They will be able to focus their resources on other, more strategic initiatives that elevate their service offering and core business to give them the edge over competitors. 

Which database maintenance services does Monin offer?  

We have grouped our database maintenance services under the moniker “DBA as a service”. Depending on your needs, you can choose a flexible reactive solution, or a more comprehensive proactive service package. All options include support for a wide range of database technologies. 

Our DBA as a service Flex package is a reactive approach to database maintenance. Nothing happens without your explicit approval, but you can still rely on all the benefits of having database experts just a call away. 

The DBA as a service Enterprise package is a previously agreed upon set of database management services. The proactive approach means that most issues will be prevented in the first place. If any should arise, they will be solved immediately without having to file a request first. Depending on your needs, we offer our Enterprise package on three levels: bronze, silver and gold. 

For more details, please refer to our remote DBA as a service page.  

Convinced about the advantages of a database maintenance contract? Or are you not sure yet if a maintenance contract is the right fit for your organisation? Don’t hesitate to contact us; we’d love to help you out!