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    4 Reasons Why You Should Prioritize Database Monitoring in Your 2020 Planning

    By: Spotlight Cloud

    The start of a new year is a great time to take stock of your processes and tools. Taking inventory of what’s working, what isn’t, and where can you make improvements helps you create a roadmap for what you hope to achieve over the next 12 months.

    SQL Server database performance is an important area to focus on during your new year assessment because the implications of poor performance are far-reaching. When done well, database monitoring uncovers performance issues that affect all corners of the business, from ROI and customer satisfaction to internal operations and outward-facing revenue generation.

    Making improved database performance monitoring part of your 2020 planning initiatives will reduce time spent putting out fires and increase confidence that your SQL Server databases are up and running and performing at an optimal level. 

    If you’re still not convinced, here are four reasons why you should prioritize database monitoring in 2020.

    DBAs Now Have a Seat at the Business Side of the Table

    The DBA role is evolving, and part of that evolution requires DBAs to become more involved in the business side of their organizations. The start of a new year is the perfect time to review your organization’s business needs and how they are changing.

    Asking the right questions can help you create a realistic picture of the scope of your DBA responsibilities and where you should focus the most attention to improve database performance. Some of the most important things to know are:

    • How many servers do you support?
    • What do the servers do?
    • Who are your users?
    • How critical are your organization’s services?

    You should also spend some time researching whether the business plans to make major changes to any of the above factors in the next 12-18 months. Changes in any of these areas may necessitate a revamped monitoring strategy and additional budget. For example, a large increase in the number of databases you support may require a new or upgraded database performance monitoring tool.

    It’s Time to Assess Your Current Database Monitoring Setup

    It’s probably been a while since you took a good hard look at your monitoring setup. Review your current system with a critical eye, then decide whether it makes sense to continue using it or if it is time to upgrade. The main factors you’ll want to consider are:

    • What does our current database monitoring setup do well?
    • What could it do better?
    • Does the tool sufficiently monitor our current database operations?
    • Will it continue to monitor performance effectively if we make any significant changes to our infrastructure?

    SQL Server Database Monitoring Needs Evolve Over Time

    Picking the best database monitoring tool for your organization’s specific needs will help you proactively maintain high performance and satisfied users. There are several different tool types available, so it’s important to know which option best suits your needs today versus when you first implemented your current solution.

    For example, perhaps your organization has moved its databases from an exclusively on-premises infrastructure to a totally cloud-based or hybrid environment. Maybe you have significantly increased the number of instances you need to monitor, or you have a lot more budget to play with this year than you’ve had in the past.

    As the saying goes, change is the only constant, so an annual assessment of your business and operational needs is crucial to keeping your monitoring system tool requirements up to date so your system functions smoothly.

    Today’s SQL Server Monitoring Tools Are Feature-Rich, Flexible, and Budget-Friendly

    If it’s been a while since you researched database monitoring tools, you will be surprised by the quantity of features available at a relatively low price point. Whether you manage database administration for a brand-new startup, a massive enterprise, or a highly regulated healthcare provider, there is a database performance monitoring tool to fit your requirements and your budget. 

    The best performance monitoring tools on the market offer a wide spectrum of features that ensure your databases stay online and available with minimal hands-on effort. These monitoring solutions can be applied to almost any server environment, whether on-premises, in the cloud, virtual, or hybrid.

    Because they are web-based, the tools are easy to install and configure. Updates are automatic, so you are always running the latest version, and scaling up or down can be done with a few keystrokes.

    One of the most attractive features available with some of today’s database monitoring solutions is mobile monitoring. No more late-night runs to the office. DBAs can receive alerts, diagnose performance problems, and start triage from most mobile devices in any location.

    Customizable alerts mean you can filter out the noise so you can focus on the most important issues first. Many alarm interfaces are designed to visually highlight critical performance problems so you can prioritize fixes and maintain database availability.

    If doing more with less is one of your 2020 business objectives, you will find that with affordable, subscription-based pricing, you can implement a robust database performance monitoring solution that fits well within your budget without sacrificing quality and functionality.

    Make database performance monitoring a priority when plotting out the new year, and you are likely to see impacts in most areas of the business, from improved ROI to higher customer satisfaction to increased revenue.

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    February 18, 2020 8:00:00 AM PST
    Spotlight Cloud

    Written by Spotlight Cloud

    Understand your SQL Server infrastructure health at a glance by monitoring SQL Server's relational engine, Analysis Services, Windows, VMware ESX and SQL Azure with Spotlight.

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