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The Care and Feeding of Db2 DBAs: How Managed Services Empower and Support Today’s Database Teams
In today’s rapidly evolving IT landscape, keeping Db2 DBA teams fully staffed and effective is harder than ever. Between the Great Resignation, the retirement of veteran Db2 professionals, and a limited influx of new database experts, many organizations are facing a serious skills gap. Yet, database demands continue to grow — from expanding data volumes to 24/7 uptime expectations — leaving IT leaders searching for sustainable solutions. This presentation, “The Care and Feeding of Db2 DBAs,” explores how modern enterprises are addressing this challenge by turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Once seen as competitors or cost-cutting replacements, MSPs are now proving to be DBA teams’ greatest allies — offering stability, flexibility, and expertise when it’s needed most. You’ll learn how collaborating with an MSP can empower your in-house Db2 team rather than replace it. By partnering strategically, organizations can free their DBAs from the grind of routine maintenance, staffing shortages, and on-call fatigue — allowing them to focus on innovation, optimization, and strategic database initiatives. Key insights covered in this session: The realities of today’s Db2 DBA staffing crisis and its long-term impact on organizations. How a managed service model complements, rather than competes with, internal database teams. Practical examples of successful MSP partnerships — what they look like and how they function day-to-day. Proven methods to get the most value and collaboration out of an MSP engagement. Real-life case studies demonstrating how MSPs help DBAs reclaim their nights, weekends, and peace of mind. By the end of this session, you’ll see how the right managed service provider can be a true partner in database success — helping your organization maintain high availability, reduce risk, and ensure that your Db2 environment runs at peak performance. It’s time to reimagine the relationship between in-house DBAs and external experts as a collaborative ecosystem, not a competitive one. Whether you’re an IT manager, database administrator, or technology executive, this presentation will give you a fresh perspective on team scalability, resource management, and the future of Db2 support in an increasingly complex digital world. Explore how to empower your Db2 DBAs — not replace them. Discover why a managed service provider might just be your team’s new best friend. Learn more and download the full presentation here: 👉 https://www.datavail.com/resources/the-care-feeding-db2-dbas/
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The Care and Feeding of Db2 DBAs: How Managed Services Empower and Support Today’s Database Teams
- 1. Boston, MA The Care andFeeding of Db2 DBAs Scott Konash and Christian Wolf, Datavail Session Code: V08
- 2. Agenda • Where, OhWhere Have the DBAs Gone? • Managed Service Provider is Not a Four-letter Word • How to Get the Most Out of an MSP Partnership • How the Service and Delivery Model Works • Questions
- 3. Datavail at aGlance Delivering a superior approach to leverage data through application of a tech-enabled global delivery model & deep specialization in databases, data management, and application services. 2022 $25 Invested in IP that improves the service experience and drives efficiency M 1,000 Employees staffed 24x7, resolving over 2,000,000 incidents per year + + 13 Years building and operating mission critical data and application systems
- 4. Where, Oh WhereHave the DBAs Gone? • Great Resignation • Limited Pipeline of New Db2 DBAs • DBA Burnout • Pandemic-related challenges • Retirements • Career Changes
- 5. Managed Service Provideris Not a Four-Letter Word • Giving DBAs Their Lives Back • Alleviating Understaffing Stress • Complementary Resource for In-house DBAs • In-house DBAs Go Beyond Keeping the Lights On
- 6. How to Getthe Most Out of an MSP Partnership • Understand the Scope of the Engagement • Identify Priority Skill Gaps and Resource Challenges • Assign In-house DBAs to More Interesting, Strategic Tasks and Projects • Leverage MSP Knowledge and Experience for Skills Development • Communicate Early and Often • Know How the MSP Service and Delivery Model is Structured
- 7. How the Serviceand Delivery Model Works (1/2) 24x7 Coverage • Our managed services are provided on a 24x7 basis • Teams are staffed in-office around the clock, including holidays • We process and work incidents and service requests on a 24x7 basis – work does not queue on weekends -- we process it in priority order SLAs • We offer standard SLAs for response on a 24x7 basis • Alerts are received 24x7 and triaged within 15 minutes • P1 – system outages have a 15 minute response of a qualified resolver
- 8. How the Serviceand Delivery Model Works (2/2) Capacity • When pricing a managed service, we focus on capacity – the actual hours that will be used supporting your environment • We also focus on skillset to align the work to the right resources
- 9. Services & DeliveryOptions Professional Services to Transform Managed Services to Operate Delivery Models for Managed and Professional Services • 24x7 In-Office Coverage • Multi-factor Monitoring • Service Requests (Patch, Modify, etc.) • Monitoring & Incident Response w/ SLAs • Proactive Services (Health, Tune) • Structured Service Review • Health Checks & Assessments • Performance Tuning • Data Warehouse Build & Run • Upgrades • Cloud Migrations • DevOps (Deploy & Automate) • Packaged App Implementation Onshore, Nearshore, Offshore, Hybrid Fractional & dedicated resource Hybrid team specialist (US Senior + Offshore)
- 10. Our Range ofData Services Project Services Operational Managed Services Upgrades Data Migration DevOps (Deploy & Automate) 24x7 In-Office Coverage Proactive Services (Health, Tune) Monitoring & Incident Response w/ SLAs Multi-factor Monitoring Structured Service Review Development, Tuning, Automation Health Checks & Assessments Service Requests (Patch, Modify, etc.) Data Warehouse Build & Optimize OBIEE & Hyperion Consulting
- 11. DBA Tasks andActivity Spectrum • Performance • Enhancements • Functionality • Requirements • Availability • Scalability • Oversight • Planning • Stability • Security • New Features • Licensing • Architecture • Projects Primary DBA Horizontal Expertise and Strategy • Complex Issues and Requests • Configuration and Validation • Replication and Clustering • Upgrades and Migrations • Tuning and Optimization • Root Cause Analysis • Installation and Implementation • Deployments and DLL/DML • Patching and Bug Fixes • Refreshes and Cloning • SQL Statement Tuning • Backup and Recovery • Space Management • User and Password Management • Object and Job Management • Preventative Maintenance • Troubleshooting • 24x7 Issue Resolution • 24x7 Monitoring Tier I Tier II Tier III Support DBAs Vertical Skill Sets and Activities
- 12. Distribution of TechnicalWork & the Impact on Staff (1/3) What happens to Senior people when: There is no 24x7 production support or it is ineffective? When effective 24x7 production support is put in place? VS Strategic Work Project Work, Planning & Strategy • Non operational: Critical but not urgent (day to day) • Working with application teams, business units, etc. • Business hours • Highly unstructured communication • Not inherently 24x7 Operations Engineering • Engineering • Higher skill sets • Small technical projects • 24x7 Escalation support Production Support • Inherently 24x7 • More about process than unstructured communication • Mid-level skill sets Tier 1&2 80% Tier 3 20%
- 13. NO TIME LEFT Time spent bysenior people in an enterprise Without 24x7 production support • Doing low level work • Being awakened for emergencies • Frustration in both the staff and management • Results in job dissatisfaction and turnover With 24x7 production support • Far better use of senior resources • Senior staff do the work they were meant to do and want to do • After hours production work essentially eliminated NO TIME NEEDED Operations Engineering • Engineering • Higher skill sets • Small technical projects • 24x7 Escalation support Production Support • Inherently 24x7 • More about process than unstructured communication • Mid-level skill sets Tier 1&2 80% Tier 3 20% Strategic Work Project Work, Planning & Strategy • Non operational: Critical but not urgent (day to day) • Working with application teams, business units, etc • Business hours • Highly unstructured communication • Not inherently 24x7 Distribution of Technical Work & the Impact on Staff (2/3)
- 14. NO TIME LEFT Without 24x7 productionsupport With 24x7 production support Cost For Work Worth NO TIME NEEDED Cost For Work Worth Time spent by senior people in an enterprise Operations Engineering • Engineering • Higher skill sets • Small technical projects • 24x7 Escalation support Production Support • Inherently 24x7 • More about process than unstructured communication • Mid-level skill sets Tier 1&2 80% Tier 3 20% Strategic Work Project Work, Planning & Strategy • Non operational: Critical but not urgent (day to day) • Working with application teams, business units, etc • Business hours • Highly unstructured communication • Not inherently 24x7 Distribution of Technical Work & the Impact on Staff (3/3)
- 15. The Datavail DeliveryModel and How it Works • At the core, we have built an enterprise grade, multi-skill tier global team to deliver effective and efficient service • Our business premise is to sell the slice of capacity you need, consumed on a 24x7 on- demand model • Datavail’s delivery model is made up of a few simple building blocks • Our intention is to go deeper into the model and explain how it works • By giving you a glimpse ‘under the hood’ we think you will see our unique delivery model positions us to deliver a great service experience Operational Admins Senior Admins Senior Admin Global Service Management Practices By Technology Offshore Admin Teams
- 16. Delivery Model Components Lead,Senior DBA Named Senior DBAs DBA Team Leader 10+ Years as a DBA & Experienced Team Leadership SHIFT 1 SHIFT 2 SHIFT 3 Operational DBAs Operational DBAs Operational DBAs Shift Leader Shift Leader Shift Leader A team of DBAs Delivering 24x7 Technology- Specific Practice SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, DB2, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, etc. Senior DBAs: • 10+ years as a DBA • Onshore/Offshore Technical skill parity • Senior, Lead DBA: • Communication & Planning • Customer Interface • Engineering & Escalation • Offshore Senior DBAs • Escalation • Engineering Operational DBAs: • 70%, 4-7 years as a DBA • 30%, 1-4 years as a DBA • Mid-level operational task execution • Follow & maintain runbook Named Domestic SDM • Secondary POC • Handles service escalations, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual planning meetings • Transparent & detailed service reporting Named Offshore SDM • Supports the Domestic Lead SDM • Geographic proximity with offshore team Service Delivery Management
- 17. How a CustomerInterfaces with our Model • Strategy • Governance Vice President & Global Practice Leader Customer Global Service Management Vice President Global Service Management Tier 3 US DBA Mid-level DBAs Offshore DBA Teams Service Desk / Ticket Triage & Routing Senior DBAs Incidents & Service Requests Datavail’s ServiceNow ITSM Platform Monitoring Systems • Oracle OEM, Delta • Other systems Alerts Email IM Ticket Phone Most Frequent Additional 2nd Most Frequent Auto Ticket Generation
- 18. LifeCycle of anIncident Ticket SLA Monitoring with ShiftLeads Continued Ticket Views by Tier 3s Auto Ticket Generation Initiation Triage Action Resolution….. Registered on dashboard for Oversight Escalated and Assigned to right skill level Templates Applied, Protocols are called Continued Investigation for Other Indicators RCA, Runbook updates, protocol updates Available for reporting Reports reviewed and predictive analysis Analyze Ticket Trends and Problem Mgmt Primary/Tier 3s are informed and using Dashboard Monitoring Primary/Tier 3s reviewing for add’l action Ticket Closed Assigned and Triaged by Ops – Data Collection Worked according to Knowledgebase, experience, escalation protocols DBA Activities ServiceBoost Delivery Model in Action Ticket is Auto Routed, Prioritized, Communicated Check List, Templates Applied, Protocols are called One-click access to collaboration, knowledge, communication
- 19. What Really StandsOut To Me About Datavail Thorough Documentation • Creation of Run Books • Customized by Client, by Technology Generally speaking, a client’s internal organization does not run such a rigorous process Ensures the right focus on every Datavail client and is a way to address escalations, before they even happen “Serving our needs has been an obvious priority for Datavail regardless of effort and time necessary. Datavail has taken the time to listen and provide honest, constructive, feedback even when we disagree. Your team has gone above and above in its efforts to help us succeed. It’s for these and other reasons that Datavail has become a real ‘partner’ in this journey” Every month to review topics such as: • Service Requests • Incidents • Tasks by Category Meetings that our Service Delivery Manager conducts with our Clients Every week to review: • Accomplishments / Proactive Items • Open Items • Planned Tasks • Recommendations What our clients say about us We consistently receive glowing comments from our customers Datavail internal Operations Call each Tuesday morning • Includes all Service Delivery Managers and All Practice Leads • They walk thru every single one of our clients, every single week
- 20. Transition – OnboardingDatavail DBAs Meetings • Weekly technical call • Monthly business meeting Deliverables • Go-Live announcement • Go-live Documents • Playbook Meetings • Weekly Onboarding Deliverables • Activate monitoring • Confirming preparedness to transition support Documents • Post Discovery Document • C&E Guide Meetings • Weekly Onboarding Deliverables • Onsite discovery meeting • Technical review of environment CLOSEOUT COMMISSIONING DISCOVERY INITIATION Documents • VPN Connectivity Worksheet • DBA Roster • DB Inventory Worksheet Meetings • Kick-off Deliverables • Access to client environment Communications – key to onboarding success • Kickoff Meeting: Initial contact between the Client and the Datavail Delivery Team • On-Site: Direct contact and information sharing with the Primary Senior DBA • E-Mail: Information Exchange, Updates, Q&A, Primary communications with the Client Implementation Manager and the Primary Senior DBA • Weekly Status Meetings: Project milestone and deliverable review Duration • 4 to 6 weeks on average • Duration is directly dependent on scope, integrated participation and speed of response to achieve objectives and milestones. • Primary bottlenecks are generally related to: • Gaining accessibility to the environment • Arranging for and executing the onsite visit (if applicable) • Monitoring integration and/or deployment roadblocks THE DATAVAIL ON-BOARDING PROCESS - OVERVIEW
- 21. Onboarding & TransitionModel Transition Planning Transition Knowledge Transfer Secondary Support Primary Support STEP 1: Evaluation & Planning STEP 2: Acquisition Steady State • Acquire domain/technical/pr ocess knowledge from SME • Confirm the knowledge Transfer back to SME • Prepare Application Information Document (AID) • Resolve historical/live tickets and enhancements with SME’s assistance • Gain hands-on experience with support process flow • Update AID • Independently resolve live tickets • Deliver enhancements • Kick-off SLA baseline methodology • Establish plan for communication in Steady State STEP 3: Ownership Ongoing improvements rationalizations, productivity and transformations Interview & Workshop Calendar Scheduled Infrastructure set up Completion of Knowledge acquisition Datavail assumes complete support for the application(s) in scope 100% SLA/VLA Ownership • Create detailed transition plan • Setup initial access to offshore • Create SME schedule • Kick off transition work streams • Sign off contract Key elements of our transition approach Scalable Ramp-Up for the incoming team Tailored process design, effective governance model, measurable tracking and reporting structure Non-disruptive, two-way job shadowing Updating system documentation
- 22. Thank You Speakers: ScottKonash and Christian Wolf Company: Datavail Email Address: Scott.Konash@datavail.com | Christian.Wolf@datavail.com Session Code: V08 Please fill out your session evaluation before leaving!