Why You Should Consider Remote Database Support

According to Manpower’s 2015 Talent Shortage Survey38% of hiring managers worldwide are struggling to fill positions in their organizations. The talent shortage isn’t quite as bad in the U.S. as it is in many parts of the world, but even here, nearly one in three (32%) hiring managers report they are struggling.

The most common reasons given for hiring difficulties are “Lack of Applicants” (35%) and “Lack of Technical Competencies” (34%).

If you’ve tried to fill a vacancy in IT lately, particularly in a high-demand specialty like database management, I am probably not telling you anything new. Database management is a staffing problem because it contains so many specialties. Large organizations may be able to field teams of specialists, but most small to medium-sized businesses run very lean and can’t afford to hire a team member who only works on one aspect of database management. At this level, each team member is expected to master two or three aspects, and such skilled practitioners are even more difficult to find and hire than single-aspect specialists.

When positions go unfilled, critical aspects of IT, from your production system to security, can be put at risk. If you try to cover the shortage by spreading the workload, you run the risk of overworking the IT team and undermining morale. These days, IT morale problems can be very dangerous, because IT impacts virtually every aspect of your business. And then there’s the whole issue of security.

Fortunately, there’s a way to manage the talent shortage, at least in the realm of database management, that doesn’t require you to hire staff. Using Remote Database Support with Spinnaker Support can put a team of database experts at your disposal. At a cost than runs about a third of the cost of adding a new staff member, you can cover every aspect of database management, ensuring a flexible and uninterrupted flow of data.

Here’s how it works. We provide database managed services, critical support, and vital maintenance. Our expert database administrators handle the everyday tasks of logging file management, database sizing, service pack upgrades, and services patches. We follow best practice backups and recovery procedures, with an added focus on disaster recovery. Our certified and experienced database experts are available 24/7 to provide on-site and remote database administration services. Special monitoring methods allow us to manage system alerts before they become larger issues by dynamically allocating staff to the needs of your system. The result is a database that responds to your needs, under any conditions, whenever you need it.

Spinnaker Support Remote Database Support is unlike any other managed services out there:

  • We do not charge per-server pricing and there are no change orders.
  • Our costs cover support for both production and development.
  • Managed services can be expanded into application development and SQL code development with a simple amendment of contract.
  • Covering more than just databases, our services include state-of-the-art monitoring and cover all major database vendors without an additional charge.

Ask yourself, are you using your database or is it using you? Life is too short to spend your days worrying about how to keep your database up and running. Contact us today. We can put you in charge of your database again, rather than the other way around. And you won’t have to worry about the global talent shortage, either.

Our Support Enables Their Support

28 April 2016 | Sara King | Sr. Marketing Coordinator

Spinnaker Support provides services to organisations spanning all industries – from manufacturing, to construction, to paper & pulp, to public sector and charities. EveryMacmillan-cancer-logo once in a while we run across a customer we are extra proud to support.

Such is the case with Macmillan Cancer Support. Especially for me, as I have had personal experience with them when my mother was struggling with cancer. They stepped in and provided a vital helping hand while my family tried to digest the devastating diagnosis. Macmillan is a UK-based charity that provides support and services to those affected by cancer – from help with money worries and advice about work, to someone who’ll listen if you just want to talk.

Two years ago, Macmillan made the smart decision to move their JD Edwards (JDE) maintenance to Spinnaker Support. The savings they have been realising can now be used to further help cancer patients and their families take back some control in their life. Knowing that Macmillan can now help more families like mine truly does warm my heart.

We are honoured to be Macmillan’s support team while they focus on what is really important. They are pretty crazy about us too, as highlighted below.

“Macmillan Cancer Support is a charity that improves the lives of people affected by cancer; providing practical, medical, emotional and financial support. Macmillan funds services to meet the needs of people affected by cancer, and provides grants and benefits advice to people living with cancer. Every pound saved on a contract is a pound spent on supporting people affected by cancer. Having a world class support team behind you, giving you peace of mind that your finance solution will run smoothly and at half of what you paid previously, made the decision to switch to Spinnaker Support very easy. It’s good to know you have an expert assigned just for you, when you need them, what more could you ask for.”

  • Dave Sharp, Head of Procurement, Macmillan Cancer Support, Head of Procurement

Oracle Users, Vendors, and Educators Truly COLLABORATE in Las Vegas

Ted Burns | April 20, 2016 | Vice President, Sales – South Gulf 

The annual COLLABORATE conference brings together the Oracle user community for a week of education, networking, meeting with Oracle service providers, and a little fun thrown in. I had the privilege of attending this years’ conference as a member of the Spinnaker Support team. From a first timer’s point of view, I wanted to share my experience and thank all of our customers and individuals who made the conference such a success.

As always, the conference was extremely well attended with over 5,000 individuals registered, representing companies of all sizes from around the world. Everyone I met and spoke with throughout the conference was excited about something new they had heard in a session, or the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas with their peers and colleagues. It was evident that everyone was eager to learn and take advantage of everything the conference had to offer.

COLLABORATE is a fitting name for this annual event and congratulations to Quest, OAUGIOUG, the vendor partners, and Oracle users that make this such a great conference. I saw collaboration everywhere throughout the event, from exhibitors sharing and partnering on business opportunities to companies who compete in the same or similar industries discussing best practices and thoughts on leveraging new and emerging technologies. The main theme of COLLABORATE is learning and from what I saw everyone found something of interest.

The SpinnaIMG_5200ker Support booth in the exhibit hall was buzzing with activity as we showcased our breadth of Oracle support services. Current customers stopped by and had the chance to reconnect with members of our sales, marketing, delivery, and executive management team. It’s always great to see our clients face-to-face and discuss how we can help them address new challenges they are facing. Former customers who are now working for other companies stopped by to see how they might work with us again. Hundreds of others came by to learn more and find out what’s new or enhanced.  Many were excited to hear about our growth worldwide, expansion of our Oracle support service offerings,  how we continue to invest in our people (who voted us into a Top Workplace spot), and our delivery model processes (which are end-to-end ISO 9001:2008 certified).   The message that we continue to provide world-class Oracle support and service while growing the bottom line was extremely well received, While we enjoyed all of the business opportunities, we also had some fun. Our “Whac-The-Cost” game attracted huge lines of people attempting to win the grand prize of a $250.00 Casino Chip! Congratulations to our big winner!

On Monday evening, Spinnaker Support hosted our annual party at The Border Grill. This was a great chance for customers and potential clients to interact with our team on a more personal level, in a relaxed atmosphere while enjoying some great food and drinks. Our CEO, Matt Stava, was in attendance and was able to spend time with everyone who attended. This was such a fantastic way for people to hear directly from senior management how we’ve created our customer centric culture and why Spinnaker Support will continue to grow and prosper in the years to come.

My personal thanks to everyone with whom I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with during conference. Our message resonated with those companies looking for effective alternatives to Oracle support, for which they’ve had a hard time cost-justifying.  I’m looking forward to continuing our conversations. I can only hope I am on the list to attend COLLABORATE 17!

Hooray! The Denver Post has just recognized Spinnaker Support as a top workplace

April 11, 2016 | Michele Banza-Conner | Head of Corporate Recruiting

The loDenver Post 2016 Top Workplacesng-term success of a service provider like Spinnaker Support is often dictated by the satisfaction and loyalty of its customers… and of course its employees. Satisfaction rate, retention rate, and reference ability – these are measures that apply equally to both customers and employees.

Today, the Denver Post recognized Spinnaker Support as a top workplace in the state of Colorado. We did not pay the Denver Post for this recognition but rather earned the award based on the cumulative survey results of our workforce. There are no better judges than those who show up and perform every single day. Many companies applied for the Top Workplace award. Spinnaker Support’s employees have spoken and we are honored to be distinguished in such a positive light.

 

Spinnaker Support is now the fastest growing global provider of third-party support and managed services for Oracle and SAP enterprise applications. Despite our phenomenal growth, we have managed to keep our customers extremely satisfied (98.3%), retained (90.2%), and loyal (99.2%) as demonstrated in our 2016 customer satisfaction survey. This growth and retention of happy loyal customers didn’t happen by accident. Since launching in 2008, Spinnaker Support’s top management has set the stage for a special culture where world-class service is delivered the right way every day. As we grow the top line, we are ever mindful of adding the right resources at the right time – to ensure we maintain a strong bottom line. This gives us staying power in the market we serve.

Achieving and sustaining a desired culture involves setting clear company and role objectives, recruiting the right people, training and positioning employees for success, rewarding employees when they meet those objectives, and retaining the employees that you want to retain. But there’s more to it. It’s also the intangible qualities of our employees that create a cultural “secret sauce.” Integrity, personality, teamwork, drive, diversity, fun, passion, and compassion. When these qualities are omnipresent throughout the workforce… everybody wins. The company, the staff, and the customer. When you love what you do, when you feel appreciated by your employer, and when customers single you out for a job well done – you simply give more.

I head up corporate recruiting for Spinnaker Support. I am chartered to land great talent that maps to our unique culture. I personally follow the progress of each new employee and I beam with pride to see them succeed. Candidly, I am not surprised that Spinnaker Support is a Top Workplace.

Hear what our employees have to say.