Database DBA Support
Customer success story
Harvard Business Publishing eliminated database overhead to fuel strategic growth.
Harvard Business Publishing reclaimed crucial internal resources.
Outsourcing specialized DBA expertise to Pythian allowed HBP to reclaim internal resources for strategic innovation while eliminating $700,000 in annual operational overhead.
Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) faced a critical bottleneck managing a diverse environment of Oracle, ISQL, Microsoft SQL, and AWS Aurora databases without specialized in-house expertise. They partnered with Pythian to deploy Database Managed Services, integrating a dedicated team of remote DBAs directly into their workflow. Reclaiming hundreds of hours for HBP’s internal teams enabled a strategic shift from basic maintenance to high-value initiatives without compromising 24/7 system stability.
Pythian is a great remote DBA partner. They’re a part of our team and they make us successful at Harvard Business Publishing.
Stefano-McGhee
Senior Manager of DevOps, Harvard Business Publishing
12X
Increase internal capacity
24/7
Continuous database coverage
Optimize your multi-platform database environment to accelerate strategic innovation.
Bridging the database expertise deficit
While HBP excelled at website infrastructure, their internal teams lacked the deep-tier architectural expertise required to manage complex and diverse database technologies.
Eliminating internal resource fragmentation
Managing four distinct database platforms simultaneously strained internal IT teams, preventing them from focusing on core missions and strategic development.
Mitigating performance and security risks
Inconsistent database monitoring and a lack of dedicated oversight created significant exposure to security vulnerabilities and performance-killing bottlenecks.
Overcoming prohibitive in-house costs
Building a 24/7 internal rotation to support every platform would have completely depleted the organization’s innovation budget on basic operational maintenance.
On-demand availability of dedicated, remote DBA teams specialized in HBP's unique platforms.
Pythian provided instant access to senior-level DBAs specializing in Oracle, ISQL, Microsoft SQL, and AWS Aurora. Access to these niche skill sets eliminated the need for HBP to recruit or train for four distinct technologies in-house.
Proactive architecture services modernized internal systems to accommodate new data structures and improve accessibility.
Pythian proactively re-architected databases to accommodate new data structures and improve overall data accessibility. These optimizations ensured the infrastructure could scale alongside HBP's growing educational resources and evolving business needs.
24/7 remote database administration functioned as a seamless extension of the internal DevOps group.
Pythian functioned as a 24/7 extension of HBP’s DevOps group, taking complete ownership of monitoring and critical business reporting. Round-the-clock vigilance provided a resilient operational culture that secured mission-critical data systems for nearly two decades.
Managed DBA services enabled the organization to sidestep the prohibitive costs of internal hiring.
Pythian’s managed services model allowed HBP to sidestep the cost of roughly 12 full-time hires required for 24/7 multi-platform support. Reallocating $700,000 in annual overhead empowered the organization to focus on high-value innovation and strategic growth.
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