What is Database Management as-a-Service?

Data is your company's core asset. Protecting that investment can sometimes be challenging to navigate. Some companies purchase software with no knowledge of the underlying database management system. Because data protection and availability can sometimes require much knowledge for its "care and feeding," engaging help from the outside may be helpful and sometimes necessary.

Data Availability:

Because data is critical to business operation, the data must be available. Database Management as a Service helps ensure that your information is always available when needed. Any good DMaaS organization will be performing proactive measures to prevent problems before they arise. A good DMaaS organization will be experienced in adhering to good business practices and database product Best Practices.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity:

We hear of data loss or nefarious organizations taking company data hostage through ransomware. Among a myriad of others, these two examples reveal the reason for good backup and recovery methods. Aside from traditional backup and recovery needs, a DMaaS will guide an organization towards other disaster recovery options to better meet the uptime during extreme data events.

Database Monitoring:

Monitoring is key to both the previous topics and subsequent ones. Monitoring is key to data availability, backup and recovery, performance, capacity planning, and much more. What would monitoring be without reliable and knowledgeable technicians to respond? Well frankly, not much. A good DMaaS solution must provide monitoring and dedicated technicians who promptly respond and remediate issues. Please reference our "Essentials of a Database Monitoring Tool" post for more monitoring information.

Database Performance:

Diagnosing database performance issues is not for the faint of heart. It often requires much persistence and looking at items outside of one’s typical scope. It's not enough to have a service that only monitors whether the database is available. Having experienced technicians with a breadth of experience is critical when tackling database performance. A good DMaaS offering will look more deeply into database performance.

Database Security:

The complexity of data access and related security requires support from management and all levels of an organization. It is paramount to have an organization involved that understands how-to guide, document, and implement standards regarding security and auditing.

Patch Management:

Part of a company’s responsibility is to keep software products up to date. Prompt updates are required to address security issues and vulnerabilities. Maintaining up-to-date versions and patches is also essential to adhere to certain compliances like HIPAA, SOX, PCI-DSS, and ISO. Patching requires communication with the user community. In lower regions, the user community comprises developers and quality assurance resources. Contact with the decision-makers and scheduling downtime takes effort in production environments. A service provider must manage communication and work schedules that are acceptable for all parties involved.

Upgrades:

A DMaaS partner is essential in guiding organizations towards major DBMS upgrades. Upgrades are a significant expense for companies. It would be best to choose an experienced database partner to drive and execute database upgrades. Choosing a partner that can perform project management and planning is beneficial when considering upgrades to current environments and databases.

Communication:

Although this is the last bullet, we can not understate the importance of choosing a service provider capable of communicating promptly and in a concise and clear format. It is frustrating when you have essential systems and data at the center of a discussion, and getting clear and timely responses, is seemingly difficult to achieve.

What are the benefits of using a DMaaS?