When a business decides to outsource their database administration (DBA), they will find that both domestic and offshore options are widely available. The question of which is more feasible for the needs of the organization will almost always come up and have to be answered. For most, it often comes down to dollars and cents. In the short term, the answer is simple. In the long term, it is not so easy.
=== Advantages of offshore DBA management
The advantage of offshore DBA management is usually its cost. The same services are likely to be much cheaper if they are outsourced to countries like India, Russia, Pakistan and the like. These costs can be as low as 50% of the national cost for the same service (by name).
Legally, this may also have some advantages, as the administration abroad may not be subject to the same restrictions (assuming your data is also stored abroad). While this perk is rare, some do benefit from it.
=== Cons of offshore DBA management
The biggest immediate disadvantage of the offshore DBA is communication. Someone on the other side of the planet may not have the same understanding of the language or the same time frame as you. Many of those who offshore services are in the ’12-hour gap’. This is the time difference it can take for the question and answer to occur.
Another problem with communication is who you are (or are not) talking to. Very often these foreign vendors are run by non-technical people who act as sales and customer relations. Real DBAs are in the background, getting their information secondhand, and often after translation as well.
A second problem is professionalism. While most offshore providers are on the upswing, some are not. The legalities of going after a foreign provider that mismanages, loses, or even steals your data is complicated and expensive. It is not worth taking that risk with certain information and data.
This brings up the issue of corporate security as a whole. Can you outsource your data to someone who is going to be hard to legally prosecute if your data is sold or compromised? Will your customer base be happy to know that their data is being sent overseas for storage?
These are all legitimate concerns that are glossed over and sugar-coated by many in the industry to justify the huge upfront cost savings that can be realized by offshoring. While these savings can be great, are they at a price you’re willing to pay?
=== The final analysis for decisions on the high seas
In the end, the decision to go abroad (or not) depends on the individual companies that have to decide. Industry experts who criticize DBA services abroad do so not out of nationalistic pride, but primarily out of experience. Those who have used the services abroad know that they often come at a time of sacrifice that can easily offset the savings to be gained.
If your IT manager has to spend hours walking the foreign vendor through the process, shouldn’t that IT manager do it alone? It’s a question often asked after the fact, when the money has been spent and the contracts signed.