6 Ways to Optimize Performance Using SQL as a Service

As managed services and hosting solutions have evolved, many customers have found that separating out their SQL databases from their other web and applications services can help them realize significant benefits. Whether the SQL databases are used for application development or in production environments, feeding data-hungry websites or business-critical applications with robust, highly available, and scalable hosted SQL databases can prove to be a differentiator for your business.

Much like other infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offerings, SQL server as a service allows organizations to host their databases on separate, hosted servers, designed with multiple nodes so data is available, accessible, and fully managed in almost any situation. Similarly, organizations only need to buy what they need or pay for what they use while the effort to maintain, manage, and support the SQL databases is transferred to the managed services provider.

So, just what can SQL server as a service do for your organization? It turns out, from the perspective of enterprise IT operations, quite a lot. Here are some of the key benefits customers have realized when they’ve made the move:

Reduce Operating Expenses and Staff Workload

If your organization were to run the idea of moving to an SQL server as a service model by your database administrators, likely the first thought to come to their mind would be the happy realization that they would no longer have to handle the regular patching, updating, and other routine maintenance activities for their system on their own. By moving your SQL server footprint to the cloud, your organization can realize both capital savings—by moving hardware, licensing, and utility costs to a hosted environment—and staff productivity gains by freeing up their time for more strategic, business-focused efforts.

Realize Economies of Scale with Shared Cloud Resources

Another key way your organization can realize reduced operating expenses is by taking advantage of the economics of pooled cloud resources. By utilizing a cloud services partner dedicated to delivering managed services for customers like you, your organization can share the burden of the dedicated hardware and support costs with other customers while also benefiting from the ability to easily scale your service levels up or down as needed. In other words, you only pay for what you actually use without having to worry about dormant capacity or clamoring to buy additional hardware out of cycle.

Implement Customized Disaster Recovery Solutions

Experienced and established cloud services providers also have the ability to offer regular database backups to enhance their customers’ disaster recovery posture. Whether as the primary or as one of the backup instances, having an SQL server as a service model allows your business to continue to operate in the event of a disruption while also having the confidence that your data is safe and recoverable.

Maintain Compliance and Industry Standards

In addition to regular patching and maintenance activities, choosing to host your Microsoft SQL server environments with a cloud services provider can help ease the burden of maintaining compliance with industry and regulatory requirements. By choosing a vendor that has already established their environment, policies, and staff to be consistent with PCI-DSS or HIPAA compliance rules, for example, businesses can expend less effort and have more confidence that they are operating to standard. In addition, the cloud services provider can assist with interpreting and updating systems if updates to requirements are introduced.

Unlock All of the Benefits of SQL Enterprise

The right cloud services provider will allow your organization to have access to SQL Enterprise Edition, which delivers additional data center capabilities and enables even faster performance. SQL Enterprise also has built-in end-to-end business intelligence functions and unlimited virtualization features, which can help your organization have access to high service levels to process business-critical workloads.

Optimize Your Microsoft SQL with FNTS

Once you’ve made the decision to move to the SQL server as a service model, the next decision is to select a service provider that can deliver a customized and reliable solution for your business. FNTS operates a fully compliant data center with enterprise-class hardware infrastructure and database licensing. Through their dedicated account managers and with the support of their 24x7 US-based and Microsoft-certified support staff, FNTS can deliver a flexible and reliable SQL solution to fit your needs.