Data Archiving Strategy

Last week I was conducting a Brainstorming session with my team to identify continuous improvement opportunities.
In this meeting it was surprising to get to know that some of the Key Transactional Databases has never had a data archiving policy defined.

In my opinion data archiving strategy should be a part of preventive maintenance activity for any firm. Database archiving solves a number of seemingly unrelated issues like improving performance and availability of resources, managing data retention policies and preserving database as long as required.

some of the benefits I can quickly list down are

Technical Benefits

• Improvement in database performance post-archiving
• Reduction of database size
• Reduction in time taken for backups and refreshes (and thus quick resolution of some tickets too...)
• Cost reduction for storage

Benefits for the Business

• Performance improvement of all applications
• Fewer occurrences of issues related to data corruption
• Single source of data and no data reconciliation errors
• Lower maintenance cost for the applications

Database archiving is an ongoing, continuous process not the one that is done periodically as in DB clean up.
Archiving strategies require one to work in planning such as classifying data. The sooner an organisation gets started with such a process the better is the preventive maintenance.

COHESIVE INSPIRATION !!!!!!!!!!!

"It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed" - Napoleon Hill

And the drive we just completed at my work place only proves the saying above.

I work with an IT consulting FIRM and lead a high performing team that excels in providing BI solutions to clients.
Work usually becomes really hectic for people working in a delivery model such that one does not have time to even catch up with personal activities on a given day. Also the rat race in the IT industry is such that it needs an IT professional to constantly upgrade his/her skill set.

So the question my team (like all other IT professionals) had is how do we achieve this and at the same time maintain the right Balance with Hectic Work Schedules?????

well the obvious and the simplest solution to this query is to keep reading and completing certifications as and when new technologies invade the market. And all this is expected to be done after work hours. BUt this is usually too taxing for an individual and it is seen that personal development always takes a back seat in the bargain. Not all individuals are motivated to invest extra hours for personal growth and at the end of the day some do it and some dont.

This leaves us with a bigger Question - How DO we Inspire all members in a team to constantly upgarde themselves such that the team as a single UNIT is pushed to the next level of Excellence?????

My answer to this would be "COHESIVE INSPIRATION" (as I call it).
Cohesive because the team bonds together to achieve a common Goal and every person in the team acts as an inspiration to every other person, in their march towards this goal to top the competency chart as an individual and together as a team.

The next Question we now need to answer is - How do we get this Mania kicking within the team ?????

To do this we started a small initiative within 2 teams where we asked every individual working on the same technology stack to enroll for a common exam on a chosen day. Surprisingly we had 19 individuals voluteering to pick on a certification of their interest (me inclusive). On grouping them we saw that there were atleast 6 individuals who had opted for a common exam and all on the same day. So this invariably created a "College Environment" after work hours. People started collaborating within sub groups to share their experiences and study together. All this made learning more fun like we did in school, THis is what I meant by "COHESIVE INSPIRATION" above where people gel together and motivate each other to achieve a common goal.

End result - On the given day all 19 members who had enrolled for their respective certifications came out with flying colors and this resulted in team (of course with individuals) upgrading to next level of competency.

This actully worked for my team. want to try it ?????

Leadership

Just finished reading this book "The Journey of the Accidental Leader" – Steve Gladis.

Here, the author tries to share his leadership experiences in the Marine CORPS in 10 simple Lessons. He has adopted a narrative story line where he explains these principles as an experience in the life of his protagonist Sam, who is forced to lead his father's consultancy Firm after his untimely death.

Though most of the Lessons listed in this book are known to most of us (consciously/subconsciously), it will help us reflect if we are able to follow it in our daily routine. Hence I Thought of listing down those 10 lessons here in my Blog along with other highlights I could relate to in this book.

 

• "Lesson number one in business: No one knows what they're doing until they try."
  

 

• "Lesson number two: You get what you give. So give a little first." As in if you want to get respect, you have to give it. If you want to get information from people, give them information. It's all about opening the door first.
  

  
   

  
   

• Lesson number three: Build trust (of the team for you) by character,
  competence, caring, commitment, and consistency."
  

  
   

  • Character - That boils down to honesty. If I can rely on what you say, that you do what you say you'll do, and if you don't, you'll make it right—then I say you've got character."
    
  • Competence - You have to be good at the basic business you're leading so that people will listen to you and have confidence in what you say. That means you have to master your profession to be taken seriously
    
  • Caring - needs to be central to anything you do when dealing with people. If people feel that you genuinely care about them and their families, there's nothing they wouldn't do for you
    
  • Commitment and Consistency - These two together because they're both about integrity—living up to promises. Look—if you're inconsistent or refuse to commit to a plan of action, people see you as unreliable at best, and nuts at worst.
    
  • Collaborte with Team. Be open to self feedback given by your team.
    

 

• Lesson number
  four: Change isn't easy, but if you do it right, everyone
  wins. People resist change as they are comfortable with what they are doing
  

 

• Lesson number five: You have to have a
  vision to make it come true . The vision thing. If you can stop yourself every now and then and check all your basic assumptions, you may find you've been doing things a certain way—and those things could certainly stand a re-Vision. Also take team opinion for their vision.
  

 

• Lesson number six: If you want to
  create a positive culture, show people by your actions
  what you believe in, don't just tell them
  

  
   

  • If ideas are bubbling up from people at every level, especially those charged with the responsibility for executing them—then the air is fresh. If people are not afraid to disagree—it's fresh. If people can try, fail, learn, and try again—then, the atmosphere is fresh
    

  
   

• Lesson number seven: Leadership is all about
  courage
  

  
   

  • if you do want to lead, you have to step up…and call hard shots.
    

 

• Lesson number eight: The long march begins with the
  first bold step.
  

 

• Lesson number nine: Change will
  happen—embrace it while sticking to your core principles
  

  
   

• Lesson number ten:
  Leaders have a passion
  for people.
  

  
   

  • Leaders value every person (employee and
    customer alike) as an individual
    
  • Leaders try to "fit" people into the right job, not
    fix them
    

 

Some Good Liners from this book:

• Respect everyone for the special gift each brings to
  the table.
  
  • That's what they (the team) do if they don't feel appreciated, respected, and valued for what they bring to the table. And if they can't fight back because you're the boss, they vote with their feet.
    

• People have got their issues. They are valuable and need to be respected. But respect doesn't mean a free pass.
  

 

• Make the customer's Problem your problem
  
• Give importance to start and end meetings on time. Don't let meetings wait for people.