Publishing | Database Managed Services

Harvard Business Publishing saves over $700K per year with Pythian's database managed services

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) faced challenges managing multiple database platforms: Oracle, ISQL, Microsoft SQL, and AWS Aurora. While skilled in website infrastructure, their team lacked specific database administration (DBA) and architecture expertise. Training existing staff would be time-consuming and costly. That’s where Pythian came in.

Pythian provides database managed services—from specialized teams of DBAs to proactively optimize database performance. Pythian ensures Harvard Business Publishing can focus on driving business growth.

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$700K

Annually saved

Eliminating the need to hire and train in-house DBAs for multiple database platforms significantly reduced costs for HBP.

12X

Team capacity

By partnering with Pythian it freed up HBP’s internal resources, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives, leading to increased overall efficiency.

Harvard Business Publishing accomplishes a lot for a little with Pythian's database managed services

Iframe

What our customers, are saying

"By hiring Pythian, we've been able to save the headcount that we would have had to hire out in the market, saving us hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. So, I think it's a big win for Harvard Business Publishing to have Pythian as a partner."
Screenshot 2025-09-16 at 5.58.42 PM
Stefano McGhee
Senior Manager of DevOps at Harvard Business Publishing
Chapter I: Introduction
  
Overline

Customer

Overline

Industry

Publishing
Overline

Location

Boston, USA
Overline

Solution

Database Administration Services
Overline

Platform

Oracle, ISQL, Microsoft SQL & AWS Aurora
  
Chapter II

Overview

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) faced significant challenges and risks managing their diverse database platforms due to a lack of specialized in-house database administration (DBA) expertise, resulting in strained internal resources which hindered strategic focus.

Pythian provided a comprehensive database managed service, offering dedicated teams of remote DBA who specialize in the technologies the business uses—including Oracle, ISQL, Microsoft SQL, and AWS Aurora. Pythian has become an extension of Harvard Business Publishing's team for nearly 20 years. As their database managed service provider, the partnership has eliminated Harvard Business Publishing's need to resource database administrators and consultants. With Pythian as their partner, Harvard Business Publishing leans into experts to help them manage business reports and architect new data structures.

Harvard Business Publishing achieved substantial business outcomes: saving over $700,000 per annum, freeing internal resources for strategic initiatives thereby increasing overall efficiency, significantly enhancing database performance and stability, and fostering a more data-driven culture.

  
Chapter III

The challenge

Harvard Business Publishing was challenged with the cost of and time to hire specialized DBAs

Harvard Business Publishing faced the complex challenge of managing a diverse landscape of database platforms. While their team possessed strong coding skills, enabling them to optimize website performance, they lacked the specialized expertise in database administration and data architecture necessary to effectively manage their various systems. Juggling multiple database environments, including Oracle, iSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and AWS Aurora, without dedicated DBA support strained their internal IT teams and resources. This hindered their ability to focus on strategic initiatives.
This lack of dedicated database administration and architecture expertise presented several key challenges. Firstly, it made it difficult to proactively monitor and optimize database performance, potentially leading to slow response times and a degraded user experience. Secondly, it increased the risk of database failures and data loss, which could have significant business impact. Finally, managing multiple platforms without consistent best practices and architectural guidance made it harder to ensure data integrity, security, and compliance.


Harvard Business Publishing recognized the need for specialized database expertise to address these challenges and ensure the smooth and efficient operation of their critical systems. Training or expanding their team to cover database administration and architecture would have been both lengthy and costly. This expertise gap meant a significant portion of their IT budget would be consumed by operational overhead.
That’s where Pythian came in.

Bridging their database expertise gap

HBP’s team lacked essential DBA and architecture expertise, making management of their diverse databases a strain on resources.

Mitigating database risks

Their team was suffering with performance bottlenecks, data inconsistencies, and security vulnerabilities.

Training and recruitment costs

Upskilling HBP's team in DBA and architecture would have been both lengthy and costly.

The solution


Pythian provided Harvard Business Publishing with the right service to address their database management challenges


By partnering with Pythian, Harvard Business Publishing gained access to a dedicated team of remote DBAs, each specializing in one of the various used database platforms. This partnership eliminated Harvard Business Publishing’s need to hire and train in-house DBAs for each platform, freeing their internal resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Pythian's team of DBAs quickly took ownership of running mission-critical databases. With Pythian as their partner, Harvard Business Publishing was able to receive better database monitoring and performance reports. Today, Pythian continues to operate as an extension of Harvard Business Publishing's teams, providing 24/7 database management, monitoring and support.
As part of Pythian’s full-service approach to database managed service—customers gain access to specialized database consultants to advance critical database and data projects. Pythian architected Harvard Business Publishing’s databases to accommodate new data structures, enabling them to adapt to evolving business needs and expand their data-driven initiatives. In designing architecture to improve data accessibility, Pythian helped to deliver more timely access to data. Our team of experts played a proactive role in enhancing Harvard Business Publishing's data capabilities.

Eliminating the DBA hiring burden

Pythian provided dedicated teams of DBAs to support Harvard Business Publishing’s diverse database platforms.

Building a data-driven future

Pythian's database expertise for reporting and innovation have played a proactive role in enhancing HBP's data capabilities.

Becoming an extension of HBP's teams

Pythian provides 24/7 support and deep database expertise for HBP, ensuring the smooth operation and optimal performance of their diverse database environment.

Better data architecture to improve data availability

Pythian architected Harvard Business Publishing’s databases to accommodate new data structures, enabling them to adapt to evolving business needs and expand their data-driven initiatives.

Technologies used

What our customers, are saying

Help visitors get the basic idea within a few seconds, so they understand what this section is about.

"By hiring Pythian, we've been able to save the headcount that we would have had to hire out in the market, saving us hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. So, I think it's a big win for Harvard Business Publishing to have Pythian as a partner."
Screenshot 2025-09-16 at 5.58.42 PM
Stefano McGhee
Senior Manager of DevOps at Harvard Business Publishing

Key outcomes

Harvard Business Publishing saves over $700,000 annually while accelerating data infrastructure and design projects

Partnering with Pythian allowed Harvard Business Publishing to sidestep the substantial costs of hiring and training in-house DBAs for their diverse database platforms. This strategic move alone translates to over $700,000 in annual IT operational cost savings. Harvard Business Publishing would have required over three (3) full-time DBAs per database platform to ensure 24/7 support. The  partnership with Pythian not only reduces operational IT costs but also frees up Harvard Business Publishing internal resources, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

With Pythian's 24/7 database management, monitoring and support, including their access to database consultants with deep, specialized expertise, Harvard Business Publishing benefits from smoother database operations and optimal performance of their diverse environments. The long-term partnership, spanning nearly 20 years, demonstrates the value and stability Pythian provides, ensuring business continuity and minimizing the risk of database-related disruptions.

By taking ownership of running critical business reports and architecting databases for new data structures, Pythian has not only provided Harvard Business  Publishing with essential data insights, but also equipped them to swiftly adapt to changing business demands, cultivating a more data-driven culture and fostering superior decision-making.

$700,000+ saved annually

Eliminating the need to hire and train in-house DBAs for multiple database platforms significantly reduced costs.

Enhanced database performance and stability

With Pythian's 24/7 support, HBP benefited from the smooth operation and optimal performance of their diverse database environment.

Fostered a data-driven culture

Pythian enabled Harvard Business Publishing to access essential data insights and adapt to evolving business needs.

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