Academic year 2020/21 – Now more than ever, Higher Education (HE) institutions are under pressure to provide an innovative teaching and learning experience to students, in what is currently a highly complex and constantly changing environment. WellData’s Higher Education Database Management services aim to reduce pressure.
With many institutions forced to move their operations remotely and to institutionalise a blended approach to learning, in person and online, concerns about the effective management of databases has moved to the forefront of many IT departments. From the safety of students’ personal information, to the ability to access data from external networks, from ensuring up-to-date backups and recovery plans, to developing a database estate that supports the current digital transformation, HE institutions are facing an unprecedented challenge in the field of database management.
Not only is the challenge unprecedented, but whilst HE Institutions are not alone in the move to remote working, their requirements are very unique and certainly different from those of other types of organisation.
This is not something new. For some time now, the main database providers e.g. Oracle and MySQL have realised the uniqueness of HE needs in terms of databases applications, including, but not limited to, tuition payments, IT infrastructure to support remote learning, student assessments, and the ability to work with a variety of platforms, from PCs to Macs and anything in between.
So much so, that they have been creating specific products and services for the industry, like these two:
Oracle For Higher Education
MySQL For Higher Education
In addition to having very unique needs, HE institutions face an additional challenge: more often than not they are under strict budget pressures. This means that having several DBAs that can effectively look after the institutions’ database estate is often not an option. And yet, leaving databases unattended, even for a few hours a day is a risk, a critical one.
Not only that, but many institutions are located away from big city centres and finding the right talent that can look after their database estate can be challenging. Junior DBAs can be a solution, but they require training and supervision, taking away time that managers could otherwise employ on strategic projects.
The reason why WellData knows and understands the specific challenges of HE institutions is that over the years we have been selected by several institutions for higher education database management, from Exeter University to Trinity College to University of Leicester, just to mention a few.
Our team knows how critical it is to provide a professional and rigorous service for 24/7/365 database management. But that’s not all.
WellData understands the importance of being able to reach someone at the other end of the phone immediately it’s needed and for this someone to have knowledge of the specific system of the specific institution.
We also know that HE institutions have very busy and dynamic calendars, so we created an SLA framework that is flexible and adaptable, designed to respond to the requirements of each individual institution.
In the many years we have worked with HE institutions we have aligned our offer to their needs, to create a full range of services that include:
· 24/7/365 database cover
· Continuous monitoring, with no limit on the amount of advice, interventions or support offered.
· Day-to-day database maintenance
· Performance tuning, high availability testing, and disaster recovery
· A fully dedicated delivery team
· Monitoring services
· Unlimited telephone/email advice and incident support
· Aligned SLAs
With the knowledge that the database estate of your institution is in safe hands, you will be able to focus on those projects that require your expertise, while you can leave the day-to-day running of your databases to us.
And if your requirements change?
If at any point you and your team require an upgrade, you decide to move to the cloud, or need licencing optimisation, our team of expert DBAs can offer an additional project based service, focusing on your needs and delivering what your institution is specifically looking for.
Contact us today and join the other HE organisations that trust WellData for the management of their database estate.
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