Consulting

Background

Brentec was founded in 2008 by me (Brent Sodtke), a professional SQL Server® Database Administrator (DBA) with over 20 years experience in the Information Technology field, with a problem-solving attitude and a passion for SQL Server®. I can create customized solutions to fit your needs of any size business, large or small.

What I Offer

Combined with understanding business goals and the persistence to get the job done, having it done well, on time and on budget, I can deliver the following when dealing with SQL Server®:

  • Remote DBA Support, a remote DBA can provide these benefits:
    • Better utilization of internal resources; using internal staff for other projects,
    • Augment the capabilities and technical depth of your IT team,
    • Leverage the skills and expertise you need without hiring in-house,
    • Transfer knowledge to your staff with constant communication,
    • Offer professional development, mentoring, and training to your team,
    • Enable after-hours support.
  • Database Administration,
  • Performance Tuning and Troubleshooting,
  • Database Analysis, recommendations, reviews, and Design,
  • Installation, Upgrade and Migrations,
  • Customization using industry best practices,
  • Licensing Analysis,
  • High Availability scenarios (AlwaysOn Availability Groups, Mirroring),
  • and Disaster Recovery solutions.

Furthermore, I will:

  • Focus on the details your business is concerned with to deliver comprehensive solutions.
  • Listen to your business and technology needs.
  • Recognize that SQL Server® is the core of many businesses critical applications that cannot suffer downtime.
  • Deliver solutions that suit your business for short or long term projects.
  • Tell you like it is, straight and to the point, helping you understand what I am doing. I value honesty and excellent service. If you are less than satisfied with anything that I do, let me know and I will take all means necessary to make it right, building trust. I have been involved in the I.T. industry for some time, and know that you are trying to get the best value for your dollar. I will not up-sell, and will be honest about solutions that you may require, how they may impact your business allowing you to make an informed decision.

The Process

The initial consultation is always free. This will be an information gathering session for myself where you will outline your specific needs and the end-result that your business will want to achieve.

I will then take this information away, review, and determine if I can be a fit with you and your team.

During the initial consultation phase some formalities will have to be done. I will provide a SOW (statement of work) noting the scope of our agreement, the hourly rate and other expenses that the consultation period may incur (e.g. travel, food, lodging, mileage, etc.) to be signed and returned to me before any work may commence. This will be a summary of the information that we have discussed during the information gathering session. Additionally, your company may have a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that I will require to sign and return.

Once the aforementioned formalities are taken care of, then the solution building can begin. The majority of the time, remote access into your network is the preferred method with access to only systems as required to fulfill the SOW. However, a Zoom/Webex session opened by yourself or someone from your team would be sufficient as well.

Payment

Billing is done in 4-hour blocks at the discussed hourly rate. Invoices will be sent via PayPal which accepts numerous credit cards and direct transactions. Additionally, payment can be done via Interac® e-transfer through your banking institution. Payment is due up-front of the initial 4-hour block before any work is started. Once this trust has been established, future blocks of time will be invoiced accordingly.

Additional Offerings

If your business requires more than just SQL solutions, I also have practical knowledge and experience in the following that may be of assistance:

  • Storage (this usually goes hand-in-hand with Database Administration) – Tintri, EqualLogic, EMC, IBM and NetApp.
  • Backup and Recovery Solutions – Cohesity and Backup Exec.
  • Hypervisors – VMware
  • Oh yeah, and if you haven’t noticed, I also have a software product, SQL Agent Insights. Take a look if your team needs to actively monitor one or multiple instances of SQL Server® Agent.

Contact Me

Feel free to reach out and get your SQL Server® issue resolved in a timely fashion. I stand behind my work, so if the issue cannot be resolved, you don’t pay; therefore everyone is a winner and I gain experience by learning something new for the future.

Contact Me

Industry Experience

To date, I have resolved issues for customers in the following industries.

  • 24×7 Financial
  • 24×7 Call Center / Telemarketing
  • Structural Steel Manufacturing / Fabrication
  • Quality Home Design and Building