Reduce costs
With an on-call subscription you hold the cover for a low monthly fee and pay for support calls only when you need one.
Subscription cover · pay per call
On-call and ad-hoc DBA support
Australian-based consultants on standby 24/7 for your SQL Server estate. $100 per instance per month holds the cover, support calls are $150 per hour — so a quiet month costs you almost nothing.
Why on-call DBA support
Peace of mind without a DBA on payroll
A guaranteed response time, a dedicated phone number and helpdesk access, so you can reach a certified DBA at any hour — and pay for the calls you actually make.
Improve availability
24×7 service coverage for critical database infrastructure, so an out-of-hours incident does not wait until Monday.
Fast response
We attend to problems immediately, resolve the incident, investigate root cause and issue an incident report so it does not recur.
Increase efficiency
Our database experts work alongside your own team on an incident rather than taking over, so knowledge stays in-house.
Experienced consultants
Certified professionals with years of production experience across current and legacy database technologies — no first-line triage layer.
Increase your resource pool
No more exposure to sick days, annual leave, absences or employee turnover taking your only DBA off the board.
On-call subscription
Hold the cover, pay per call
Two components: a small monthly subscription that keeps a certified DBA on standby for your instances, and an hourly rate charged only when you actually raise a call.
Remote On-Call DBA
$100per SQL Server instance, per month
Standby cover for teams running SQL Server without an in-house DBA. Minimum of 4 instances.
What the subscription includes
- Coverage: Australian-based consultants available 24/7
- Response SLA: 2 hours, guaranteed
- Contact: dedicated phone support line plus service desk access
- Onboarding: live within 24 hours
- Platforms: SQL Server, Azure SQL and Managed Instance
- Environments: on-premises, AWS and Azure
- Secure remote access for issue resolution
- Certified, experienced DBAs — no first-line triage layer
Support calls
$150per hour, only when you call
Charged against actual time worked on an incident, so a quiet month costs you the subscription alone.
How calls are billed
- Billed only for hours actually worked on your incident
- Available 24/7, including after hours, weekends and public holidays
- Incident report issued after resolution, with root cause
- Scheduled after-hours or weekend work can be booked in advance
- No charge for months in which you raise no calls
All prices are GST exclusive. A minimum of 4 SQL Server instances applies to the subscription. If your estate needs continuous proactive monitoring rather than reactive call-out, the monthly 24/7 DBA plans start at $1,500 — see the full comparison on the pricing page.
When on-call fits
Cover for the hours you cannot staff
On-call suits teams that run their own databases day to day but have no answer for nights, weekends and leave. Common reasons clients call:
- After-business-hours support when something breaks overnight
- Weekend scheduled work — patching, migrations, cutovers
- Full 24/7 cover for a short period while a DBA is on leave
- A second opinion from a senior DBA during an incident
- Overflow capacity when your team is committed to a project
Getting started
Live within 24 hours
No lengthy procurement cycle — most clients are covered the day after the first call.
Scoping call
A senior consultant confirms your instance count, versions, platform and the hours you need covered.
Environment details
You share database versions, operating systems and hosting — on-premises, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure or Oracle Cloud.
Secure access & onboarding
We establish secure remote access, document escalation paths and issue your dedicated support number.
Cover goes live
The 2-hour response SLA starts, and you can raise a call at any hour from that point.
What we cover
Versions, platforms and hosting
On-call covers current and legacy SQL Server estates wherever they run — including versions past their vendor support date.
Database versions
- SQL Server 2022 / 2019
- SQL Server 2017 / 2016
- SQL Server 2014 and below
- Azure SQL Database
- Azure SQL Managed Instance
- SQL Server on Azure VM
Operating systems
- Windows Server 2022 / 2019 / 2016
- Windows Server 2012 and below
- Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu
Hosting platform
- VMware
- Hyper-V
- AWS
- Microsoft Azure
- Oracle Cloud (OCI)
- Physical hosts
Choosing between them
On-call, monthly plan or hourly consultancy?
Three ways to get a senior DBA. The right one depends on whether you need cover, continuous management, or a defined piece of work.
This page
On-call / ad-hoc
You run the databases and need a safety net. $100 per instance per month holds the cover; calls are $150/hr. Reactive, not monitored.
See what it includes ›From $1,500/mo
Monthly 24/7 DBA plan
We run the databases. Proactive monitoring, health-check reporting and included service hours from $1,500/month, across every major platform.
Compare the plans ›$150/hr
Hourly consultancy
A defined piece of work — a migration, an upgrade, a tuning exercise. $150/hr with a four-hour minimum and no ongoing commitment.
See consultancy rates ›Tailor-made database support for your environment
Every business is different. Tell us your instance count and the hours you need covered, and we will put together a solution that fits — at no cost.
Schedule a Free ConsultationPublished Last reviewed
FAQ
Common questions
The on-call subscription is $100 per SQL Server instance per month, with a minimum of four instances, and support calls are billed at $150 per hour. Both prices are GST exclusive. In a month with no incidents you pay the subscription only.
On-call is reactive cover: you run the databases and call a certified DBA when something breaks. A monthly 24/7 DBA plan is proactive management — continuous monitoring, health-check reporting and included service hours — starting at $1,500 per month. Many clients start on-call and move up as their estate grows.
Within two hours, guaranteed, at any hour of the day or night including weekends and public holidays. You get a dedicated phone support line and service desk access, and an incident report with root cause once the issue is resolved.
Yes. The on-call subscription requires a minimum of four SQL Server instances. If you run fewer than four, hourly consultancy at $150 per hour with a four-hour minimum is usually the better fit.
Onboarding completes within 24 hours. After a short scoping call to confirm instance count, versions and platform, we establish secure remote access, agree escalation paths and issue your dedicated support number — then cover goes live.
SQL Server 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2014 or below, plus Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure VM. Hosting can be on-premises, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud or physical hosts, on Windows Server or Linux.
The on-call subscription covers SQL Server estates. Oracle, PostgreSQL, EDB, MySQL and MongoDB are covered by the monthly 24/7 DBA plans, or by hourly remote consultancy at $150 per hour across every platform.
Yes. As well as reactive incidents, on-call subscribers can schedule after-hours and weekend work such as patching, migrations and cutovers. Scheduled work is billed at the same $150 per hour against actual time worked.