Remote DBA Program: 6-Step Guide and Most Common Mistakes

Handbook and Tips:

Remote DBA Program: 6-Step Guide
and Most Common Mistakes

Abstract:

Enterprises have become increasingly pressured by external market conditions in developing a remote database
administration strategy, yet few succeed in designing an effective cost-saving approach. This whitepaper will explain
how to improve return on investment using remote DBA, and avoid most common mistakes implementing and
managing it.

By Michael Fedotov,
Renat Khasanshyn,
Alex Khizhnyak

Remote DBA Program: 6-Step Guide and Most Common Mistakes Page 2 of 13

Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary 3

2. Why Remote DBA? 3

3. Database Administrator’s Scope of Work 4

4. Remote DBA Lifecycle 5

5. Common Mistakes 9

6. Benchmarking Remote DBA: When and Why 11

7. About the Authors 11

8. References 13


1. Executive Summary Relational databases,
Relational databases, which are by far the most popular such as Oracle, grow 3x
kind of databases, are an essential part of every modern to 5x in size every three
business. Maintaining them has grown to be one of the
most crucial tasks for enterprises. As a result, today
years.
database administration has become one of the hardest challenges businesses may encounter.

Every three years, relational databases like Oracle grow 3x to 5x in size. More than that,
enterprises face the necessity of managing a growing number of databases containing more
data with increasingly high requirements for uptime and security.

The soaring amounts of work are becoming harder and harder for the enterprises’ data
administrators to deal with, and eventually employing new personnel seems inevitable. The
reality is, trying to catch up with the progress by employing more is not only an unreasonable
solution, it also tends to become unfeasible. The reason is that rarely do the budgets allocated
for database administration rise as fast as the actual cost of administration, if it is provided by
just the internal resources of the company.

These issues, or ideally their anticipation, bring enterprises to realize that a different approach is
needed to handle the challenge.

And remote database administration (DBA) is quite a different approach. The idea behind
remote DBA is simple: you entrust a third-party service provider to take care of your databases.
While the general benefits of the approach and its necessity are doubtless, it is important, when
deciding on the service provider, to make the right choice.

This whitepaper will present a 6-step guide to planning, designing, and managing remote DBA,
and explain how to improve return on investment (ROI) and avoid the most common mistakes.

2. Why Remote DBA?
It’s hard to imagine a modern enterprise without relational databases. Providing infrastructure
for data storage and management, they have grown to be a vital component of both the smaller
enterprises, and Fortune 500 giants.

Enterprises often seem to underestimate the role of their relational databases until they run into
problems with database administration.

Many enterprises employ just one database administrator. Now, when he or she is not able to
do their job (for example, if they take a vacation), their duties are likely to be temporarily handed
over to other employees. And are they quite competent to cope with such an important task?

More than that, the huge dependence of the enterprise on one or a few people is always a risk
factor. Even when there are two or three people permanently involved with DBA in an
enterprise, absence of one of them can be a threat to the smoothness of database
administration, taking into account the amount of work and the necessity to reallocate it
promptly.


But safety is not the only concern here. Generally speaking, most of a DBA’s workday is spent
on repetitive, low-level administrative work, whose ROI is fairly low in spite of its being critical to
database maintenance.

Relying on remote DBA is advantageous in both aspects. On the one hand, it guarantees your
data is safe, since taking care of databases is the direct competence of a remote DBA server
provider. On the other hand, remote database administration
is beneficial financially, ridding the enterprise of such a
Most of a DBA’s
considerable, yet cost-ineffective expense as keeping internal
DBA. Depending on the amount and specific character of workday is spent on
work, remote DBA can help cut DBA expenses by 40% or repetitive, low-level
more. administrative work,
Another huge benefit of remote DBA is round-the-clock whose ROI is fairly
database monitoring. 24x7 support is rarely feasible for an low.
enterprise’s in-house staff, both from logistical and cost
positions. At the same time, it’s often necessary, particularly for companies that provide a 24-
hour interface with customers via the Internet. Remote DBA companies make this possible.

3. Database Administrator’s Scope of Work
Being a good database administrator requires versatile professional talents, as the process of
DBA comprises a number of rather different activities. Performance tuning, troubleshooting,
cloning, data modeling, installation, backup, and recovery, all of which are inalienable parts of
the database maintaining process, are equally important. And a successful database
administrator has to master all of the above. On top of that, good communication skills and other
typical (however, not always easy-to-meet) requirements for any person involved in teamwork
are still there.

Commonly, a database administration routine comprises such activities as checking alert logs,
monitoring performance logs, tuning, applying patches, performing upgrades, installing agents,
validating the backup and recovery process, following change management procedures, and
addressing requests from application developers, O/S administrators, and end users. Ironically,
while playing a crucial role in the support of an enterprise’s infrastructure, these tasks do not
relate directly to a company’s core revenue-generating competencies. The return on investment
(ROI) of employing internal database administrators, therefore, is rather low; a job of high
importance, responsibility, and professional standards turns out to be an unrecoverable cost.

Often, an enterprise’s CEO, feeling this or having figured it out, passes along more work,
typically unrelated to DBA, to an administrator. Sometimes, the ROI of this work is higher than
one of the tasks in the administrator’s direct competency. By doing so, CEOs demonstrate that
they underestimate the extent of the DBA specialist’s business with the database maintenance
tasks, and jeopardize the efficiency of this primary mission. As the list above suggests, the
scope of a database administrator’s work itself is quite vast, and requires full dedication. At the
same time, it is impossible to achieve efficiency of any additional work entrusted to a database
administrator without sacrificing the effectiveness of the administration itself.


The problem becomes more and more serious as the amounts of database maintenance work
increase. This is where remote DBA steps in, making it possible to free human resources from
cost-ineffective work and to avoid hiring additional staff for this sort of work.

4. Remote DBA Lifecycle
The lifecycle of a remote DBA engagement for an enterprise usually consists of six distinct
phases. The diagram below illustrates their chronological order and the way they build on each
other.

Exhibit 4.1 Remote DBA Lifecycle

Source: Altoros Systems

4.1 Phase 1: Identify Remote DBA Opportunities

Enterprises face challenges administrating their databases, which brings them to realize that
remote DBA is an option to consider. Typically, such challenges are:

Difficulties managing increasing amounts of information and number of databases
The riskiness of assigning DBA to one or a small group of executives
Unprofitable internal database administration caused by its low ROI
The need for 24x7 support for worldwide implementations

If an enterprise wants to pass the management of only some of their databases to a remote DB
administrator, it is important to decide which databases will be passed. Typically, it is useful to


keep all of the above factors in mind when making a choice. For example, if there is a database
that is rapidly growing in size, crucial to the enterprise’s operation, and requiring 24x7 support, it
is a strong candidate for being passed to a remote DBA team.

4.2 Phase 2: Assessment/Business Case

Since data is the key to any enterprise’s functioning, haste is unacceptable when it comes to
switching to remote DBA. To forge a successful strategy, some research needs to be
conducted. An enterprise may want to carry out a remote DBA “readiness” assessment that will
provide it with the information necessary to make key decisions.

Four segments of organizational readiness can be evaluated:

1. Business Objectives Readiness
2. Database Administration Processes
Maturity Readiness
Investigating the ability and
3. Cultural Readiness
4. Financial Expectations (desired vs. feasible experience of a remote DBA
ROI) vendor to provide a mixed on-
The assessment may apply maturity models based site/off-site approach is highly
on the Information Technology Infrastructure recommended.
Library (ITIL) principles.

Data for assessment may be gathered from:

1. Questionnaires
2. Interviews
3. Discussion with internal database administrator(s)
4. Study of DBA maintenance plans and roadmaps

Deliverables may include:

1. DBA Readiness Report
2. ROI analysis
3. DBA Sequencing Plan
4. Engagement Roadmap

4.3 Phase 3: Evaluation and Selection

According to the Everest Group, in order to succeed when referring to outsourcing, an
enterprise should look for a service provider who meets the following criteria:

1. Information technology resources (to eliminate the need for customer investment).
2. Process expertise (to streamline the process and make it cost-effective; to focus internal
management on core competencies; to take advantage of the vendor's former
experience).
3. Economies of scale (to facilitate scalability, globalization, and networks).


4. Access to resources otherwise unavailable to the buyer (equipment, applications, capital,
people, lower-cost raw materials).

Given these criteria, a good remote DBA service provider
Sometimes, credit and is a provider who meets the following requirements:
criminal history records
1. Experience and deep understanding of the
checks are process. Before making a choice, an inquiry into
recommended as a the previous and current remote DBA experiences
standard practice for of the service provider is highly recommended. The
team should have a proven track record in all
employees and aspects of remote DBA.
contractors.
2.
High level of privacy and security. Remote DBA
service providers should be prepared to share and
review their security policies with you, as well as learn more about your security
requirements. Typically, remote DBA services with local offices are reliable because of
the strict data privacy laws in the US. Physical security and secure connectivity are also
things to ensure.

3. Talented team, both locally and remotely. A remote DBA, unlike in-house staff, has to
administer several databases at the same time. But, more important, is how they cope
with the job. A good remote database service provider can attract and retain highly-
qualified and certified DBAs locally to provide on-site services and maintenance work.
Be sure to ask for resumes and qualifications of both local and remote DBA team
members. Schedule a technical interview to make sure you evaluate their credentials.
Sometimes, credit and criminal history records checks are recommended as a standard
practice for employees and contractros.

4. A reasonable communication plan and readiness to understand the needs of the client in
terms of communication. It is vital that before settling with a service provider, you are
able to answer the following and other similar questions:
How often will status reports be delivered to your team?
Will they be delivered on-site, via e-mail, Web meeting, or conference call?
How can you schedule a task with the remote DBA team?

5. Financial status. The better the status, the more qualified the staff, which a service
provider can hire and retain. Financial status is an indication of successfulness, as well,
so analyzing the financial reports is also a good idea.

4.4 Phase 4: Implementation and Transition

This phase comprises making the necessary decisions in order for the remote database
administration process to be well-organized and effective.

Firstly, a governing model needs to be established. A rewarding relationship begins with clearly
defining the mutual expectations of the company and the remote DBA service provider, which is
crucial to the smoothness of the outsourcing management process. An effective governance


model should include metrics, payment models, the possibility of renegotiating the terms of the
agreement, the pricing structure and fees, the intellectual property issues, the termination
options, the rights and restrictions of both outsourcer and company and the liabilities. Service
Level Agreements (SLA's), whenever this is possible, should also be included. It is very
important that all outsourcing contracts have terms for both termination of cause and termination
of convenience. Some exit considerations may be centered on people, equipment, and
intellectual properties.

Secondly, the customer and the service provider usually assign a person or a team to manage
the evaluation and selection process. Then the customer and the provider work together to
conceptualize and to re-confirm the scope of work, the goals, and the activities of the
engagement.

The service providers should be included in the enterprise’s planning, since they can be very
helpful. To increase motivation, which causes better efficiency in the customer and service
provider interaction, incentives can be used.

Finally, according to the evaluation conducted in Phase 3, a communication strategy should be
discussed and settled. A clear and effective communication plan is half the key to successful
DBA outsourcing.

4.5 Phase 5: Contract/Engagement Management

The essence of remote DBA team management is that from managing resources you switch to
managing results. Putting the desired output into focus, such an approach implies ensuring that
the result matches the expectations and expresses the enterprise’s true needs. It also makes
sure that the results of remote DBA are reported regularly and necessary adjustments are made
promptly.

Assessing and adjusting a remote DBA team’s performance regularly—that is, managing it—is
an essential part of the routine of an enterprise that opted for remote database administration.

The key to assessing a remote DBA service provider’s performance—and by doing so, growing
able to maintain service quality and control the process of database management—is using the
right metrics.

Exhibit 4.2 Remote DBA Metrics

Source: Altoros Systems


Some of the metrics that can be used include:

1. Response time
2. The frequency and detail of reporting
3. Helpfulness in terms of mentoring ability (in case some internal DBAs are employed, as
well as the remote DBA service provider)
4. Availability of optional additional services, such as migrating, security reviewing and
planning, performance tuning, backup planning, etc. It is natural for any additional
services to cost additional money, though, because if they seem to be “on the house,” in
reality it only means that an enterprise is automatically being charged for all the optional
services, including those that it does not use.

Remember that the goal of applying such system of metrics is, by measuring and adjusting
performance, to build a successful relationship between the client and the service provider.

4.6 Phase 6: Renew/Exit

Besides disaster recovery plans, organizations should have an exit plan for remote DBA, as
well.

While in this phase, an enterprise should evaluate the outcomes of current outsourcing
engagement, compare its initial goals and expectations with the service provider’s actual
performance, and make a qualified decision about how to evolve the relationship with the
remote DBA team in order to achieve the strategic objectives.

5. Common Mistakes
5.1 Remote DBA Service Provider Mistakes

1) Avoiding Responsibility
A service provider is always fully responsible for the service implementation process.
Some service providers try to avoid legal accountability for their work, since this protects
them from many risks. Enterprises should keep in mind that such a policy just as well
deprives them of their rights to claim indemnity for any deviation of the remote DBA
process, should it occur.

2) Referring to an Intermediary
The relationship between a client company and a remote DBA service provider, in a
sense, is very intimate. You can’t refer to a third-party to manage such a relationship.
Sometimes, as soon as a deal is signed, a managerial team, different from the remote
DBA team, takes over the relationship. This is undesirable if you want to maintain
contact with the remote DBA team itself—and you normally do, since they are the ones
who do the job and who you have employed to do it.

5.2 Client Enterprise Mistakes

1) Inadequate Readiness Assessment


It is not uncommon for enterprises to entrust their
databases to a remote administrator without giving IT executives should
proper consideration to their decision. It is critical that expect to pay an
an enterprise’s readiness is assessed adequately, the
additional 5 percent
choice of the databases to be outsourced is weighed,
and the strategy of remote DBA is well thought-over to 15 percent on
and accepted. If these conditions are not fulfilled, managing a remote
outsourcing database administration can be more of a DBA program, at
hassle or even a threat to an enterprise’s database’s
effective functioning than its catalyst.
least during the first
year.
2) Unrealistic Cost Expectations
Remote DBA is cost-effective, but one has to be
rational about the extent of economy it guarantees. For several years now, business
press has been claiming that IT work costing $40-$80 an hour in the United States can
be done for $15-$25 an hour in India or Russia. If these numbers sound too good to be
true, that’s because they often are. IT executives should expect to pay an additional 5
percent to 15 percent on managing an offshore remote DBA program, at least during the
first year. The transition phase will add costs, too: planned expenses should cover
diligence, transfer of knowledge, and extensive program management.

3) Relying Too Much on Executive Contact
Once a company has decided to outsource the administration of its databases, usually
there is a rush to get the deal done and put the transaction on a fast track. Executives
from the company and the outsourcer meet, agree, and leave sorting out all the details
of such a relationship to the management phase of the project. However, it is a better
strategy to involve more of the enterprise's human resources in these initial meetings so
that HR has a say in the agreement; just using the input from top-level executives is
rarely enough.

4) Not Letting the Remote DBA Team Lead the Process
When trying to lead the database administration process, enterprises often forget that
when outsourcing it, they basically chose to shift this job onto a third-party team. A client
company should be aware that with any outsourcing, it passes the job-to-be-done to a
service provider and then buys the job-that-is-already-done from this provider, and the
surest way to break the relationship is by dictating how this job is to be done.

5) Signing a Deal with a Term That Is Too Long
The longer the contract terms, the deeper the parties involved get in it. Building up a
long-run strategy is important, but on the other hand, if a long-time deal is clinched, it
absolutely should allow changing the agreement terms over short periods of time. It is
generally considered even better for an enterprise to develop a close relationship with an
outsourcing company, but sign a short-term contract that can be easily negotiated and if
necessary renegotiated or even broken.

6) Improper Process Management
It is a mistake to assume that once all the details of a remote DBA deal are discussed
and the contract is signed, you do not have to worry about database administration any


longer. A person should be assigned to manage the process. The right person for the job
is someone who understands the process and is able to focus on the results that best
match the interests of the company. He or she should also have the foresight to
recognize any possible problems before they actually occur.

7) Treating the Outsourcer as an Outsider
Far too often, an enterprise forgets that the remote DBA service provider is a business
asset and must be treated as such. A remote DBA team is a vital part of a successful
business—and it should be treated accordingly, not as one of the many suppliers, etc.

6. Benchmarking Remote DBA: When and Why
When an enterprise decides to switch to remote DBA, it typically expects that doing so will help
to save quite a part of the budget previously allocated for database administration. While
generally the financial benefits of remote DBA are beyond doubt, it is a mistake for an
enterprise to think that just clinching the deal guarantees saving. Although some remote DBA
teams can propose costs that are half as expensive as employing a full-time database
administrator, it is not rare that the lower cost is made up for by poor service. So, benchmarking
is required to provide a baseline of costs and service levels. An enterprise can use it to compare
the results delivered with the results within the industry, and consequently negotiate or
renegotiate the outsourcing deal.

When negotiating, benchmarking knowledge ensures that adequate expectations are set for
cost, performance, and the quality of service. When an enterprise has decided to switch to
remote DBA and does not intend to carry out a painstaking investigation, wishing to move on
through the negotiations fast, benchmarking data can be used as a guide.

Once a deal has been settled, benchmarking can be used for contract refinement. Most
outsourcing contracts are renegotiated within two years of being signed. The main reasons for
renegotiation are typically dissatisfaction with cost or service quality. Referring to benchmarking
data is the main way to make a case with the remote DBA team when renegotiating the
contract.

This is why it makes sense that the requirement for benchmarking be included in the final terms
of a remote DBA contract. In this case, one can expect that realistic expectations match to a
positive outcome.

7. About the Authors
Michael Fedotov is Technology Evangelist at Altoros Systems, Inc. and has been working as a
freelance journalist for a number of IT-related periodicals since 2003, covering next to all
aspects of IT, and specifically software developments, in an abundance of articles. He has
taken part in several scientific conferences and provided service for many more participants
creating and holding their presentations. He also has experience working as an interpreter and
presently is studying Japanese.

Alex Khizhnyak is Chief Evangelist at Altoros Systems, Inc. and co-founder of the Belarus Java
User Group. Since 1998, he has gained experience as an author, editor, media specialist, event


manager, conference speaker, and blogger. So far, his education background combines IT,
programming, economics, and journalism.

Renat Khasanshyn is the founder and CEO of Altoros Systems, Inc. Mr. Khasanshyn speaks
frequently at a wide range of events, and most recently was selected as a finalist for the 2007
Emerging Executive of the Year award by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.
Prior to founding Altoros Systems, Mr. Khasanshyn was VP of Engineering for Tampa-based
insurance company PriMed, Inc. He is a co-founder of Belarusian Java User Group and studied
Engineering at the Belarusian State Technical University.

Altoros Systems, Inc. is a global software delivery acceleration specialist that provides
specialized software product engineering, independent Quality Assurance, and remote
database administration services. Many leading organizations – ranging from technology
innovators Autodesk, Hewlett-Packard, and Sony to government agencies such as The State of
Oregon – have trusted and leveraged Altoros to accelerate the creation of software and to
speed up time to market while reducing burn rate and development costs. Founded in 1999 and
headquartered in Western Massachusetts, Altoros has representative offices in Tampa, Florida.
It manages a software development center in Eastern Europe out of its offices in Minsk,
Belarus. For more information, please visit www.altoros.com.


8. References
1) Renat Khasanshyn. How to Design & Manage a Strategic Outsourcing Program and
Avoid Common Mistakes: Handbook and Tips. (Altoros Systems, Inc., 2006)

2) MySQL Statement of Work. Remote DBA Service. (MySQL)

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