Social media has dramatically transformed how we transact business across the globe. It has made it possible for firms to target their customers in a very deep manner and this has had striking results in the way businesses are run all across the globe. The key thing that has made this type of marketing and interaction possible is the fact that people leave a large trail of information about themselves on social media and this detailed information that includes their demographics, likes, residence and much more is a veritable gold mine for the forward-looking business.
To this end, you need to have a clear strategy on how to manage your database if you expect to reap anything meaningful from your data lake. Before we jump the gun so to speak, it is important that we get the definition of the word database out of the way even as we get into the nitty-gritties of its management. A database is a software abstraction which contains data that is of value to the workings of an enterprise. Formally, a database is a collection of information which has been organized so that you can easily access, manage and update it all in one view.
1. Database Administration
They are various types of databases but the key thing is that they act as stores of documents in all their various formats. Managing a database requires individuals with great skills, those who can offer the whole gamut of services. Now the sad fact is that such professionals are few and far between and when you can actually lay your hands on them, you will no sooner discover that the cost of retaining an in-house data specialist is prohibitively high even for the most endowed of firms. The only economical option this leaves you with is to hire a remote database administrator.
The corresponding truth of the matter is that with an ever expanding organization, the greater the data that you collect from clients the more that you need to devote to manage and make sense of all the data. In such a scenario, simple databases and simple reports will not suffice and sooner rather than later, you will be forced to call in the big guns to manage your data lake. A remote database admin is a viable solution since it is an efficient way of taking care of your databases without the need of investing in the training or hiring of an in-house database administrator. This support is easily extended thanks to the ability of connecting with a database remotely.
2. Optimize Social Media
Remote DBA Experts are the only viable option for you who is looking to optimize your social media databases. Now there are a couple of key things that you need to bear in mind when you are going about choosing the experts that you will entrust with your data. Since you will be using them to optimize your social media data, you need to choose your partner according to well set criteria and the following guide will go a long way in offering up the key information that you need to have at hand even as you make this key decision. This will enable you to have realistic expectations of the deliverables.
- Efficient – The remote database administration of choice should show a willingness to run your work in an efficient manner across the board. This is due to the fact that data for has a sell by value; this means that if you have to extract anything meaningful from your databases, then you need to make sure that it is done within a predefined time frame. They should be able to improve the overall manageability of database infrastructure including application performance, scalability and end-user experience. They should be able to manage downtime and be quick to resolve all the issues as they arise.
- Proactive – You need a team which has proven ability to respond to the changing times quickly and accurately. This means that at the very least, they should have the ability to work with the new technologies and also to integrate new methods of database management which will give you more efficient ways of not only managing your databases but also extracting meaningful information from them.
- Expert – They should be able to offer you expert services which are in tandem with the best industry standards, taking care of your data in the most professional manner possible. This means that they must have strict security guidelines as to who has access to your valued information and also as to how it is managed.
They should be reliable in offering up their services too and this means that they should be ready to offer up their expertise via on-demand consulting services making sure that your data is being managed in the best way possible in light of current technological advancements.
3. Value for Money
At the end of the day, being fully cognizant of the importance of the social media databases in offering you a competitive edge, you must make sure that the remote database administrator of your choice is offering you a service which is affordable and that which offers you full value for your money. The primary consideration is that you will end up paying a sum that is much less than that you would have had to pay in the event that you opted to retain an in-house team of database administrators.
So this option is by far the smartest choice in ensuring that your data is totally and fully taken care of and that you are able to glean insights and value from it which will ensure that you are running your operations in the most efficient manner possible and that you are maximizing on your resources as well as you should. The value that you stand to derive by outsourcing this function to the experts is a wise investment, which will pay huge dividends in the long run.
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Author Bio:
Jeanette Jackson is a database administrator who runs a Remote DBA Experts firm which has tentacles among the top Fortune 50 companies. She has been in the space for the past 14 years helping firms maximize on their data silos.