eDiscovery Shops, The Vendor Isn't Your DBA!

Help! My Database Is. . . 

Many of the top eDiscovery and litigation support app vendors use SQL Server for crucial portions of their products. Over the years, I've gotten to work on quite a few platforms. Most notably seems to be kCura's Relativity. I've been to their Relativity Fest conference a few times, even spoke at it last year on the top things I find clients mishandling in their SQL Server environments.

Through the networking and relationships in the space we've built up over the years, I seem to get a fair number of calls with folks who are in a bad situation. Maybe a smaller law firm with no Database Administrator. Sometimes a larger eDiscovery service provider hosting data with system administrators wearing the "DBA Hat". The worst of those calls are when someone has experienced SQL Server corruption or unexpected downtime and they aren't sure what to do to recover, why it happened or how to get at the root cause. It seems like there is always a deadline looming, too. Most judges don't seem to understand "the server ate our production" as an excuse, either.

A couple years ago, though, I was talking to one client and they said something interesting to me. They had quite a few settings that had room for improvement, they had experienced a corruption event and needed some best practice assistance. What they said, "I sort of thought the vendor handled the DBA aspects for us", really hit home for me. He didn't actually mean it as an insult. His support experience was so great they he sort of forgot about his databases as something to support.

One thing I've noticed with most of the larger vendors in this space is they give amazing customer support. Makes sense, these tools are not inexpensive. Some of the brightest and most amazing people provide support for these firms. I've had many great conversations with kCura support reps and their Infrastructure Engineering team, for example. I'd hire any one of them as a consultant for Straight Path if I were allowed to! They understand the full stack behind their product. They listen. They can troubleshoot. They care. Such talent. 

These support engineers out there in this industry are rock stars!

But. . . They aren't your DBA

That's the hard thing to understand with any software company that has amazing support teams. I see it in other industries also, though perhaps less.

When a support team is there to help you figure out this setting and that best practice and guide you through your backups (as I believe all vendors should! I even spoke about this at the PASS Summit in a join presentation with a fellow MVP who worked for a software vendor about this a few years ago. We talked a lot about the old arguments between vendors and DBAs) you have a better experience, maybe too good?

Clients see this support and let their guard down just a little on their databases. That missing vigilance; that missing attention to a critical role - the guardian and protector of the data that deadline driven, expensive review is occurring on - can sometimes lead to really awkward and embarrassing moments.  As a Firefighter/EMT in my volunteer life, and as a SQL Server consultant who gets those 7PM calls on a Friday - I hate it when I have to sometimes start a sentence with "I'm really sorry. We have tried everything we can. . ."  It's especially hard when the situation could have been completely prevented, or at least a solid recovery plan could have been in place to get back quickly. If you are dealing with data. You need someone in that role of protector of the data. Regardless of industry. Especially in industries where the data is everything - like eDiscovery.

So. What Do You Do?

Well it depends. Some workloads are so large that it just makes sense to have full time DBA support. There are enough clients, enough matters being reviewed at a time and enough churn that it makes sense to staff that internally. You shouldn't just staff the need with a single DBA, though. Even in a fast paced industry, vacations and sick time still happen. Having a senior and a mid level person can really help. The planning and future proofing is key for the senior DBA. The day to day and keeping the lights on is key for both DBAs or the whole team. So get on a hiring spree and bring in the best and brightest. 

What about a smaller law firm that hosts their own? What about a hosting provider who doesn't have the workload or can't justify bringing on 2 or 3? Still more options exist. Or what if it makes more sense to bring on a solid mid-level and wish you had someone to mentor them on the journey to senior? There are some great managed service providers out there who can watch your whole environment.  

I run one. Sure a bit of a shameless plug here - but Straight Path Solutions specializes in SQL Server. We know eDiscovery, too. We have a service we call Senior Database Administrator On Demand. It's a simple model. You are on a retainer with us, we give you a certain number of hours per month of proactive and reactive support.

We've gotten those calls at 7PM so we work hard to make sure you don't ever end up in that situation. At the same time we're speeding up your review time by improving performance. We're watching your growth and trends. When you catch that huge matter you weren't expecting? We're already there to help you scale. We're also a fraction of the cost of a Senior DBA in an FTE role. Because you just don't need our top level expertise for 40 hours a week. You really need it for 10, 15 or maybe 25 hours per month. By paying for what you need and use, you save a lot of your budget - but you have an entire team of top level experts there for you.

Sure.. i'm plugging my company here. Honestly though? There are quite a few great options for you in this space out there. I don't really care who you use. We're happy to take the work but mostly? I just want to remind you to really cover your databases. Really remember you own them and the data in them. However you do it, make sure they are well taken care of.  It's almost always more expensive to start over than take care of it up front.

If you want to try working with us regardless of your industry? You can sign up a simple retainer, give us a shot for a sort of trial 20 or 40 hours. The worst that happens is you end up with a SQL Server infrastructure that is healthier, better tuned and some solid future plans and we move on from each other. What I expect will happen, though, is you'll get all of that and see the value of teaming with experts in this flexible on-demand model and we'll end up in a long term relationship.

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