SQL Server Consulting & Database Development
Practical help with the SQL Server databases behind your business applications: slow queries, stored procedures, reports, data problems and database design. You work directly with an independent developer who has spent many years building and maintaining database-driven business systems.
What I can help with
SQL performance troubleshooting
When a page, report or overnight job has become slow, I find out where the time actually goes, whether that's a missing or unsuitable index, an inefficient query, blocking or a design that no longer fits the amount of data. Then I fix the cause, not just the symptom.
Stored procedures and T-SQL
Writing new stored procedures, functions and views, and reviewing or refactoring existing ones. Business logic that lives in the database should be clear, correct and safe to change, especially when the person who wrote it is no longer around.
Reporting and data exports
Building new reports, fixing reports that give the wrong numbers and speeding up the queries behind them. I also set up exports to spreadsheets, accounting software and other systems.
Data reconciliation and clean-up
Tracking down why figures in two systems don't match, finding duplicate, missing or inconsistent records, and correcting them carefully. This also covers one-off imports and data migrations.
Database design
Designing new tables and schemas, or extending an existing database for new features, with sensible keys, constraints and indexes so the data stays reliable as the application grows.
Application database issues
Errors, timeouts, deadlocks and data bugs that show up in the application but start in the database, in Classic ASP, PHP or .NET applications.
Integrations
Moving data reliably between SQL Server and other systems: MySQL databases, APIs, files and external services, either on a schedule or in real time.
Not sure whether the problem is in the database? That's fine. Describe what you're seeing, for example a slow screen, a report that doesn't add up or an error message, and I'll help work out where it comes from.
How I approach database work
- Understand the business first. What the data means and how it's used matters as much as the SQL.
- Look at the evidence. Queries, execution plans, the data itself and error logs, before proposing changes.
- Explain clearly. You'll get a plain-language explanation of what I found and what I suggest.
- Change carefully. Live business data deserves tested changes and a way back if something unexpected happens.
Technologies
SQL Server and T-SQL (stored procedures, functions, views, triggers), MySQL, and the application code that talks to them: Classic ASP, PHP, C# and ASP.NET Core.
Related services
- Legacy application support, for older applications built on SQL Server or MySQL
- Custom software and integrations, including APIs and dashboards on top of your data
- Ongoing developer support, if your database needs regular attention