In previous blogs, we described how to select a database support partner and how to prepare your team. Now the real work begins. You've chosen your partner, the QuickScan is done, there are clear agreements about hiring additional expertise, and your team is trained. You can get started. The following three phases can be distinguished.
Phase 1 Start the support and evaluate until there is a workable situation
Start by gathering all the necessary information. Has an account been created for everyone and does everyone know where to find everything? What procedures will you follow? Record that and share them with your team and your partner. They may have any feedback you can incorporate. For example, what is a valid reason to call for support in the middle of the night when 24/7 support is part of the deal? And to what extent does the support partner have freedom to deviate from standard procedures, and when should they escalate and consult? Repeat until it is workable for everyone. This can take quite some time in the beginning, but it is very important for all parties to have clarity.
Phase 2 Ensure that trust can be established
If all goes well, you are making a long-term commitment. In this process, trust is very important. That trust will develop most quickly if your support partner, especially in the early days, spends time with you on site and joins your communication channels such as an intranet or a tool like Slack but also in conference calls and - especially - walk-in discussions. This way, your partner can fully empathize and empathize with what's going on in your organization and proactively come up with advice. Include the expert on your team and involve him or her as much as possible. Make sure that you and your team also get to know the other experts on your support partner's team. After all, they are also part of the team.
Phase 3 Seamless collaboration
Once a bond of trust is established, you can start working toward more and more physical distance by combining on-site and off-site support, for example. Is there a large project? Then you can ask your partner to be on-site again a few days a week and alternate that with a few weeks of off-site support. This way you can seamlessly tailor support to your needs and "breathe".
Why does this approach work?
By using these phases, your own team will learn a lot in a short period of time and the support team will go further than you expected. Your technical problems will therefore be solved quickly, with any luck even before they arise. This is of course very nice for everyone involved. All this together makes you much more efficient than if you hire an expert as a permanent employee. Moreover, this solution is much more sustainable, because a permanent employee will quickly get bored and look for another challenge.
Want to know more?
Want to know more about the route to effective database management? We wrote a whitepaper about that. Download the whitepaper here. Would you like to exchange ideas with us? Feel free to contact us, we would love to get to know you.
Part 1: Selecting a good database support partner in three steps
Part 2: Outsource database management. What to look out for?