SQL Server Database Experts
Enterprise SQL Server consulting, Azure migration, HA/DR design, and long-term stewardship for organizations running mission-critical Microsoft SQL Server databases.
PALADEM’s SQL Server database experts help engineering and operations teams run, modernize, and migrate mission-critical Microsoft SQL Server workloads. Whether you need to move an Extended-Support-ended instance onto a current version, design Always On availability groups, migrate to Azure SQL, untangle SSIS-heavy ETL, or recover from query-plan regressions after an upgrade, our SQL Server experts deliver database work that holds up under real production pressure.
Why Choose SQL Server?
Microsoft SQL Server remains one of the most capable relational database platforms for enterprise workloads, and the 2022 and 2025 releases have continued to close the gap with cloud-native alternatives through deeper Azure Arc integration, ledger tables, Always Encrypted with secure enclaves, and Copilot assistance in SQL Server Management Studio. SQL Server earns its position through exceptional tooling (SSMS and Azure Data Studio), strong T-SQL, first-class integration with the Microsoft data stack (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, and Power BI), mature high-availability options through Always On Availability Groups and Failover Cluster Instances, and a predictable support lifecycle that plans well. It is a natural fit for organizations already standardized on Microsoft 365 and Azure, for regulated workloads that benefit from ledger and encryption features, and for steady-state OLTP and hybrid analytical workloads where engineering maturity and tooling matter more than novelty.
Our SQL Server Services
Custom SQL Server Database Development
We design and build SQL Server databases end to end, from schema modeling and T-SQL development through stored procedures, indexing strategy, and application integration. Our work targets current SQL Server releases and uses features like temporal tables, ledger tables, Always Encrypted with enclaves, and In-Memory OLTP where they fit the workload. Every database we ship is architected for the ten-year view, which includes disciplined naming, auditable change history, and a migration strategy from day one. For organizations that also need operational support, we pair development with our database administration services.
SQL Server Consulting & Architecture
Our SQL Server consulting experts advise leaders on the decisions that are hardest to reverse: platform target (on-prem, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or Azure SQL Database), instance sizing and licensing model, high-availability topology, storage design, and schema boundaries across domains. We review existing estates, identify architectural and compliance risk, and deliver written recommendations your team can execute. When it helps, we embed alongside your DBAs and engineers to model the patterns rather than just describing them.
Performance Tuning & Query Optimization
Slow SQL Server workloads are usually diagnosable. We profile wait statistics, use Query Store to identify regressed and high-cost queries, analyze execution plans, and evaluate indexing, statistics, and memory pressure. From there we deliver targeted fixes: plan forcing where appropriate, index rationalization, statistics maintenance, query rewrites, partitioning, and configuration tuning. The deliverable is a prioritized plan with measured before and after numbers, not a generic checklist.
Legacy SQL Server Modernization
We offer incremental modernization of SQL Server estates, including upgrades from Extended-Support-ended 2014, 2016, and 2017 instances onto current releases, migrations from on-prem to Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database, and modernization of SSIS workloads to Azure Data Factory or Microsoft Fabric Data Pipelines. Our approach uses Database Migration Assistant, Azure Database Migration Service, and staged compatibility-level changes so the database remains available throughout. No big-bang rewrites, and SSRS-to-Power-BI paginated report work is handled the same way.
SQL Server Support & Maintenance
We provide ongoing support for production SQL Server estates, including patch cadence management, backup and restore verification, index and statistics maintenance, security review, licensing optimization across core-based licensing, Software Assurance, and Azure Hybrid Benefit, and disaster-recovery runbook testing. Our maintenance engagements are sized to the real surface area of your estate and keep your databases current with Microsoft’s support lifecycle rather than letting them drift into unsupported territory.
Why PALADEM?
- Built for Enterprise SQL Server. Our SQL Server work targets long-lived, mission-critical databases where data integrity, recoverability, and compliance matter more than speed to launch.
- US-Based Architecture, Global Delivery. Senior US architects lead every engagement, supported by a global engineering team for efficient, cost-effective delivery. See our full services for how we structure engagements.
- Software Stewardship Approach. Every SQL Server engagement is guided by our Software Stewardship Framework™, which treats your database estate as a long-lived asset to be cared for across all eight stewardship pillars rather than a one-time deliverable.
Related PALADEM Services
Expertise translates into practice through PALADEM’s service lines. These are the most commonly engaged services alongside or instead of expertise-specific work.
Fractional CTO & CIO Leadership
Continuous executive technology leadership for organizations whose technology decisions are starting to have permanent consequences.
Learn moreCustom Web Application Development
Bespoke web applications built and stewarded for the long term by US architecture leadership and a proven global delivery team.
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Discovery, roadmap, and acceptance discipline that gets the right thing built and shipped on a predictable cadence.
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Autonomous workflows that reason and act, with the guardrails, checkpoints, and human oversight to keep them safe.
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Interface and experience design grounded in the people who will actually use the system.
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Continuous, evidence-based quality validation across automated regression, manual testing, and performance testing.
Learn moreFrequently Asked Questions
SQL Server 2014 and 2016 are at end of Extended Support. How urgent is the migration?
SQL Server 2014 hit end of Extended Support in July 2024, and SQL Server 2016 reaches end of Extended Support in July 2026. Running an unsupported database engine means no security updates, no bug fixes, and compliance exposure for workloads subject to HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2, or similar regimes. The practical answer is to plan the move now, because upgrade projects on databases that matter take longer than teams expect. We recommend a staged assessment that inventories instances, compatibility levels, deprecated features in use, and the real surface area of dependent applications before committing to a target version or platform.
Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance. Which one should we target?
Azure SQL Managed Instance is the better fit when your workload relies on instance-level features: SQL Agent jobs, cross-database queries, CLR, Service Broker, linked servers, or database mail. It offers near-full SQL Server surface compatibility, which shortens migration timelines for applications that were written against a traditional instance. Azure SQL Database (PaaS) is the better fit for newer applications or ones that can be refactored to a single-database model, because it offers the most elastic scaling and the lowest operational overhead. We make that decision database by database using the Data Migration Assistant and a structured compatibility review rather than a blanket policy.
We have a lot of SSIS packages. What are the realistic modernization paths?
There are three viable targets: lift SSIS to Azure Data Factory using the Integration Runtime (the fastest path, preserves existing packages), rewrite into native Azure Data Factory or Microsoft Fabric Data Pipelines (the strategic path, better long-term fit), or keep SSIS on a SQL Server VM or Managed Instance if the packages are stable and the business case does not justify change. The right answer usually depends on how much of the ETL logic is still evolving. We inventory packages, classify them by complexity and volatility, and recommend a per-package path rather than a single all-or-nothing decision.
How do you approach high availability and disaster recovery design for SQL Server?
HA and DR design starts with the business requirements, not the technology: defined recovery time and recovery point objectives, acceptable data loss, and budget reality. From there we map options. Always On Availability Groups give synchronous or asynchronous replica protection and readable secondaries. Failover Cluster Instances protect against instance-level failure on shared storage. Azure SQL platforms offer built-in geo-replication and automated failover groups. Whichever pattern fits, the deliverable includes runbooks that have actually been tested, because a DR plan that has never been exercised is not a DR plan.
We upgraded SQL Server and now some queries are slower. How do you handle query-plan regressions?
Query-plan regressions after a version upgrade or compatibility-level bump are a known pattern, usually caused by cardinality estimator changes or new optimizer behavior. The right tool is Query Store. We enable it, let it capture workload, identify regressed queries by comparing plans before and after the change, and then choose the correct remediation per query: force a prior plan, update statistics, rewrite the query, add a targeted index, or adjust the compatibility level scoped to the database. The goal is to keep the upgrade benefit while removing the specific regressions, not to roll the whole change back.