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Announcement: Pocket DBA™ service

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Several months ago, we posted a blog about keeping a Database Administrator on retainer for emergencies, called “Put a DBA in Your Pocket”

We cross-posted a version over to LinkedIn at the same time.

The response to both was overwhelmingly positive!

So much so that we are bringing this idea on as a new service offering, effective today!

This service comes with different levels for different needs and budgets.  It is primarily intended for you to be able to get a quick response from someone you trust (that’s us…) when bad things happen to your database server, which they eventually will.  Its the nature of tech.

In addition to being there for emergencies, you also get some periodic proactive benefits as well.

All of the pricing, benefits and terms are on the Pocket DBA™ page, separate from our current Services page.

Launch Special:  All new customers that sign up in February qualify for special rates and additional benefits… This is a limited-time offer, please message me directly for more details.

Contact us today with any questions, or to grab one of those 3 early-adopter spots!

This service is only available to US businesses at this time.

2018 Highlights and 2019 Goals

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Happy New Year!

They say focus on the positive and make your goals public, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do here!

Dallas DBAs had a great 2018, by every measurable category.  No formal goals were laid out, other than “don’t close the doors” and “help people”.

The stats:

  • 7 new clients added – mix of short-term and long-term
  • 1 customer carried from 2017 into the year and 3 extensions signed for 2019
  • 21K views/115K minutes watched on our YouTube channel
  • 26,415 page views on DallasDBAs.com
  • 1 new employee added (part-time Junior DBA)
  • 2 new contractors working on skills not in house (Power BI and SQL Dev)
    • 3 other sub-contractor agreements signed
  • 1 SQL Saturday sponsored (Dallas, May) with a booth (many others at the “personal” level)
  • 2 Pre-conference sessions and 2 regular session presentations given at SQL Saturdays (Cincy and Dallas)
  • 3 scripts updated or added to the Microsoft Technet Gallery
  • 2 Databases rescued from corruption issues (Thanks Red-Gate!)
  • 6 free HealthChecks
  • At least $12 in net profit

The goals for 2019:

  • 6 new long-term part time DBA support clients
  • Add one Senior SQL Server DBA to staff
    • Add one apprentice to this DBA
  • Add one new Oracle DBA to the team
  • Sponsor 2 SQL Saturdays with a booth (Dallas and Cincy)
  • Deliver “DBA Fundamentals” training for free once per quarter (Cincy, Dallas(?), Q3/Q4 TBA)
  • 30K views/180K minutes on YouTube channel
    • 6 new videos – Accidental DBA target audience
  • 40K Hits on DallasDBAs.com
  • At least $13 net profit
  • 12 Free HealthChecks, bare minimum once a month

The things we put in place this year have worked well, so I may be fudging the number too conservatively for 2019.  Check back next year…we may actually hit $14 net profit!

Thanks for reading!

Kevin3NF

SQL Saturday Dallas, 2018

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Quacky rides bikes!

 

SQL Saturday Dallas #734 is a wrap!

I’m still tired, 2 weeks later!

This is my 7th or 8th SQL Saturday as an attendee.  3rd as a pre-con presenter.  5th delivering a Saturday session, 1st as a sponsor and 1st as a co-organizer.

And it was a blast.

Months of prep work went into getting things ready…venue change, sponsor chasing, speakers, goodies for speakers and attendees, pre-con stuff, after-part, speaker dinner…you name it, I at least read an email about it.  This was my first time around so I was following the lead of veterans on the NTSSUG board.  We had over 1000 people register…I don’t recall the final tally of actual attendees but the place was packed all day!

My pre-con (DBA Fundamentals) went really well, with a record number of attendees. By design this class is usually small and intimate.   The BI session next door had 65 or so!  I’ve done this pre-con 3 times now, and this was the first time I actually had a technical issue (fonts went wacky) and a brain cramp in the middle.  But, I recovered and people (hopefully) learned something they can take back with them to the office.

I also did my Disaster recovery session on Saturday, which I think went really well, and got a bonus of meeting someone I knew through a previous client and only by phone.  I always think you’ve done your session well when people line up to chat with you afterwards:

Either something was really funny, or my backpack has way too much stuff in it…

 

Our Dallas DBAs sponsor table went really well…except everyone seemed to think I was raffling off my personal racing bike.  Lots of folks came by for the raffle and the free t-shirts (100 only…gone in 90 minutes).  Some even stopped to ask what we do, giving me the chance to promote our Apprentice program.  Thanks to everyone that came by!  And also to Richardson Bike Mart for providing the $150 gift card for our raffle.

Not the raffle item….just clickbait apparently:

The entire staff of Dallas DBAs, in official uniform

 

A very special shout out to my good friend and graphics/web guy, Jeff Miller of Igniss Images for shooting this event as a free service to the SQL Server Community.  See the pics!

Thanks to all the attendees for coming, and to the Sponsors that make it possible!

Kevin3NF