Efficiency Now and for the Future With a Database Review

This scaling company’s business requirements were no longer being supported by their databases. Together, we changed that.

The Challenge

Project Overview

This company was in a state of growth where the client base was increasing exponentially. Good news for the business meant bad news for a vital reporting process and the time it was taking to refresh.
Users were waiting for data to load and deadlines were being missed thanks to the lag on these time-sensitive reports.
Nightly build time was turning into night and morning build time, as the task was seeping into the early hours of the day leaving the in-house team frustrated while waiting for the build to complete.
xTEN performed a database review with the primary aim of reducing the lag on the quarterly report and cutting down the nightly refresh build time.
The secondary objective was to review the existing configuration and provide the in-house team with the knowledge to monitor and troubleshoot future complex issues.
The optimisation of their databases saw report speeds rise and night builds streamlined.
The in-house team were provided with a detailed plan for further SQL Server optimisations. This left the client with a stable, high performing estate, easily manageable in-house and fully supportive of their business needs.

The Customer

International Investment Company

This global multi-asset investor has been managing assets for both retail and professional clients for over 25 years. Customers include FTSE 100 directors, private equity partners, hedge fund managers and leading UK charities, so a focus on client outcomes is key.

Good News for Business, Bad News for Reporting

This scaling company’s business requirements were no longer being supported by their databases. Our aim was to get them to optimum efficiency so that business-critical reports could be produced, insights taken, and decisions made.

We also planned to equip the internal team with the tools necessary for the ongoing support of the growing estate.

Minimising Inefficiency, Maximising Stability

We performed a full database review of the customer’s estate, detecting issues and areas for improvement. With the two main concerns being the quarterly report and severely lagging nightly build, the mission was to find inefficiencies wherever they lay.

We then turned our attention to increasing overall stability. We presented the in-house team the knowledge and tools they needed to manage the estate and carry out remediation in the form of a detailed plan for optimising and monitoring their systems.

Future-Proofed Systems

Significant performance gains were achieved with a 71% reduction in the quarterly report build time and a 55% reduction in overnight build times. The team is no longer waiting for the overnight process to finish before they can start their work and the business is free to grow without the concern of operational inefficiencies.

The in-house team are unconstrained and stronger now they are equipped with the tools they need to keep their estate secure and stable, future-proofing processes for the business.

The database review and optimisation was just the beginning of the story for our client. To carry on growing, they needed a system that they could rely on to provide an efficient service. Now that the in-house team have the skillset to track efficiencies and identify issues for themselves, the company is in a great place to scale and thrive.

Phil Grayson
MD at XTEN