What to Ask When Hiring Remote DBA Experts

Appointing a remote DBA agency can be pretty tricky if you do not know how to evaluate them. Because the company database is usually critical for its operations, it is extremely important for the remote DBA team to have the competence and commitment for delivering the standard of service that is required by the business as an incorrect choice can lead to operational disaster. Thus, whenever you need to choose remote DBA experts, you need to carefully evaluate the credentials, expertise, and experience of the agency. Some vital questions:

What Are the Credentials of the Service Provider?

Even before you ask about the experience that the agency has of offering remote DBA services, you should ascertain the credentials of the agency. Find out who are the people behind the outfit, whether they have any technical expertise or are simple folks with money to fuel a business opportunity. Most of the founders of good agencies have an excellent background of having worked in very reputed tech organizations that would have given them an insight into the demands of companies from their databases. Also, check out the profiles of their senior management – all of them should be from computer technology backgrounds or have worked in responsible positions in reputed organizations. What you really want to ensure that your company’s database will be in the hands of people who know that the business is all about.

What Is the Service Provider’s Experience?

It can be a nice feeling to hand over charge of your company’s database to the young nephew of a director but it is usually not a very good idea if you want to ensure operational stability and responsiveness that can only come from those who have a certain minimum experience of handling customers. You should ideally be looking at remote DBA experts who have at least 7-8 years of database support, and a high degree of familiarity with all the major databases, including Oracle. Check out who they are working for and get in touch with them to find out if indeed their support levels are what you will be satisfied with. You must also ensure that the service provider has a system of remote monitoring so that any issues can be identified and tackled before they become raging problems.

Are You Assigned Specific Administrators or Do You Need To Go Through a Call Center?

Never make the mistake of engaging an agency who will only provide support through random executives at the end of the phone line at a call center. This is because generally they will not have any specific knowledge of your database operation, and you will waste a lot of time trying to make them understand your concerns. Insist on the agency to allocate specific database administrators who will be familiar with your database and can be asked for specifically when there is something that needs to be taken care of. If your database is intensively used and a high uptime is critical you should request for the assignment of a senior DBA executive to your account. This sort of support will provide a higher level of service that will provide you peace of mind because you no longer have to deal with junior database executives who will need to confer with his seniors every time there’s something critical. This arrangement can cost you more money however, you can be sure that it will be well worth it.

What Is the Location of the DBA Services Agency?

Even though operations are always remote, you could run into problems if the agency is located in a completely different time zone as it is more than likely that their best support staff will not be available during their off-peak time. There is also the chance of legal complications in case there are any disputes with an agency that is located in a foreign country. It is best to find a DBA serviceprovider within the same country for easy resolution of the multiple issues outlined.

Conclusion

Choosing remote DBA services agency is not a just a matter of finding the lowest bidder for the desired services. You should be able to ascertain that they have the requisite competence to look after your account and are ready to devote the resources that are necessary to service your account properly.