Any business, regardless of the industry, relies on actionable and accurate information to gain a competitive edge over others. Such information often influences decisions around the target market, new products, marketing strategies, and excellent prices.
Due to exponential technological advancements, collecting data has become easier than ever. We’re living in the era of big data, where enterprises can capitalize on the wealth of information to survive and outgrow their competition. As a result, companies are increasingly adopting a data-driven decision-making strategy to drive their business forward.
However, the business growth pathway doesn’t just end with accessing more data. When the data is collected from various sources, it needs to be stored and processed to gain useful insight. The entire ecosystem that supports data collection and analysis needs to be secure, stable, and scalable; this is where database administration plays an integral role.
How Does Database Administration Work?
Data can be of value to organizations’ processes only when it’s stored in a way that’s accessible whenever it is necessary. With a database, it is easy to sort and access data for performing various functions, such as –
- Creating mailing lists
- Drafting management reports
- Identifying client needs
A database can be effective only when it facilitates efficient use and data access, necessitating sufficient processing power for sorting, linking, calculating, aggregating, and arranging data. Databases usually work as storage centers containing closely related data, and an organization can have many databases categorized as documents, relational, and graphs.
As and when a business grows, data storage is bound to increase and evolve. Through database administration, technicians will manage and update different databases and create new ones for new data sets. It is the job of the consultant database administrator to make sure that databases are accessible for use at all times.
What Are the Benefits of Database Administration?
Database administration helps businesses make sense of data while ensuring it is accessible in the future. Here are four ways database administration helps businesses –
- Speeding Up the Decision-Making Process – Management teams must make tough decisions that drive the company towards its objectives. These decisions need to be timely and accurate, and effective database administration makes it possible to manage and interpret data to gather insights that speed up the decision-making process.
- Boosting Data Integrity & Security – Most of the data collected by organizations is sensitive. It could be the personal information of employees and clients or information that offers a competitive edge to the company. Protecting data is integral; data administration allows it to regulate it effectively and ensure it’s accessed only by authorized people. Data administration also plays a role in safeguarding data integrity by regularly evaluating the consistency and accuracy of data across multiple databases.
- Enhancing Company Collaboration – When a company grows, more departments are added to perform different functions. Despite the difference in functions, a certain level of collaboration needs to be maintained to align processes with organizational objectives. However, the lack of departmental collaboration can slow corporate growth due to slow data-sharing methods. Data administration is the perfect solution for departmental collaboration, allowing data to be stored and accessed from a central location through multiple applications and by different end-users.
- Increasing Sales By Accurate Customer Behavior Prediction – Through data administration’s predictive analysis, it is possible to analyze existing customer data and collect new data sets to predict collective and individual customer behavior and preferences. As a result, businesses can use the information to tailor their products according to customer interests, ultimately increasing sales.
Why is Outsourcing Database Administration Services the Right Choice for Mid-Sized Businesses?
Unfortunately, database administration management can be notoriously challenging, which makes it a costly endeavor. As databases are prone to human errors, cyber-attacks, power outages, and hardware breakdowns, you need qualified technicians to mitigate the issues effectively. Additionally, database failure could lead to severe consequences, such as data breaches, operational losses, customer dissatisfaction, reputational damage, and non-compliance penalties, which can severely compromise the business.
Hiring an in-house database administrator can be particularly expensive for mid-sized enterprises. Many companies employ third-party DBA services to maximize security and reliability while saving significant time and money.
Here are some of the valuable ways your business could benefit from outsourcing a DBA consultant –
- Saves Money – Because you no longer have to hire in-house DBA technicians, you save significant money that would otherwise be spent on huge salaries, benefits, and training. Other than that, you also get to save up on equipment and office space.
- Enhances Database Performance – Because a third-party DBA enterprise specializes in that area, it will be more than equipped with infrastructure, knowledge, and experience to maintain, patch, and upgrade your database system. With their expertise at your side, you can stay assured that you’ll witness reduced downtimes.
- Frees Up Time for Your IT Staff – When you outsource an external team for DBA services, they’ll be the ones handling anything related to your databases. Ultimately, it would mean that your IT staff can work on other critical projects without worrying about your company’s databases.
- Provides 24x7 Support – By having a third-party DBA firm by your side, you can expect a team of database administrators to be at your beck and call at all times. You will find it helpful whenever you have concerns or need database support.
- It Gives Peace of Mind – When top professionals manage your database, you can sit back and focus on your core competencies. You’ll have the peace of mind that the job experts are doing the job without you having to stress.