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SQL Server and Azure SQL development and administration

SQL Server and Azure SQL development and administration: T-SQL and stored procedures, query and index tuning, SSIS packages and reporting, Always On availability groups, backups and security, upgrades to SQL Server 2025, and migrations to Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance, with dedicated SQL Server developers and DBAs for your team or a SQL Server project delivered end to end.

What we build with SQL Server

  • T-SQL development

    Stored procedures, functions, views and triggers in T-SQL for business logic, reporting and batch jobs, kept in a SQL database project in Git, reviewed like application code and covered by tSQLt tests.

  • SQL Server performance tuning

    Slow queries found through Query Store, Extended Events and execution plans, then fixed with indexes, rewrites, statistics or Query Store hints, with blocking and deadlocks traced to their cause and timings measured before and after.

  • Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance

    Azure SQL Database from serverless to Hyperscale, and Azure SQL Managed Instance where an application relies on SQL Server Agent jobs, cross-database queries or CLR, defined in Terraform or Bicep, on private endpoints, with Microsoft Entra sign-in and managed identities in place of passwords.

  • SSIS, reporting and data loads

    SSIS packages maintained, rebuilt or moved to Azure Data Factory and Microsoft Fabric pipelines, SSRS reports carried over to Power BI Report Server, where SQL Server 2025 consolidates on-premises reporting, and bulk loads and change data capture feeding the warehouse.

  • High availability and maintenance

    Always On availability groups and failover cluster instances on premises or on Azure virtual machines, failover groups in Azure SQL, index and statistics maintenance and integrity checks on a schedule, and restores tested regularly so recovery targets are proved rather than assumed.

  • SQL Server upgrades and moves to Azure

    SQL Server 2016, which left extended support in July 2026, and older instances moved to SQL Server 2025, Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database, assessed first with the migration tooling in SQL Server Management Studio or Azure Arc, rehearsed on copies and switched over with a rollback plan.

  • SQL Server security

    Always Encrypted for personal and financial columns, Transparent Data Encryption, row-level security and dynamic data masking, ledger tables where records must be provably untouched, SQL logins replaced by Microsoft Entra identities, and audit logs kept where administrators cannot alter them.

  • Database DevOps for SQL Server

    Schema changes shipped as EF Core migrations or DACPACs built from SQL database projects through GitHub Actions or Azure Pipelines, SqlPackage deployment reports reviewed before release, and pull-request checks that build the schema and run the tests against SQL Server in a container.

  • Vector search and JSON in SQL Server

    The vector data type and vector distance functions in SQL Server 2025 and Azure SQL for semantic search beside your relational data, the native JSON type and regular expressions in T-SQL, and Data API builder for REST and GraphQL endpoints over existing tables.

Hire SQL Server developers and DBAs

  • Dedicated SQL Server developers and DBAs

    SQL Server developers and DBAs who join your team full time, work in your repositories, tracker and meetings, and report to your lead. You interview them; we carry the Ukrainian contract, payroll, invoicing and leave.

  • SQL Server project delivery

    A team that takes the SQL Server project from scope to release: estimate, build, tests and deployment, with a technical lead on our side who owns the plan and the quality.

  • SQL Server support and take-overs

    An existing SQL Server system taken over from another team or kept running: a read-only review and a written list of risks first, then fixes and new features in order of impact.

The dedicated team page explains how specialists join your team, and the outsourcing page covers project delivery, take-overs and how we charge.

Who works on your SQL Server project

  • SQL Server developers

    T-SQL, stored procedures and SSIS

  • SQL Server DBAs

    Performance, availability, backups and security

  • .NET engineers

    EF Core and application data access

  • BI developers

    Reports, Analysis Services models and Power BI

  • Cloud and DevOps engineers

    Azure SQL in Terraform and the deploy pipeline

How we work on SQL Server

The database lives in source control: a SQL database project or EF Core migrations hold the schema, the pipeline builds and tests it against SQL Server in a container, and every environment receives the same reviewed artefact. SQL Server and Azure SQL are the everyday databases of our .NET practice and of the platform we run our own company on, with personal and financial columns Always Encrypted and every schema change shipped as a migration.

An inherited instance starts with read-only access and a written list of risks: version and patch level, backups and the last tested restore, the heaviest queries in Query Store, and who holds sysadmin rights. Production changes are rehearsed on a copy with masked data and made through named, audited accounts.

Other databases we work on

Databases overview

Questions about SQL Server development

Which industries do your SQL Server developers work in?

Fintech, banking and insurance, for core ledgers, payments and regulatory reporting; enterprise software and ERP, for line-of-business systems built on .NET; e-commerce and retail, for orders, stock and pricing; healthcare, for patient and claims records under strict access rules; manufacturing and energy, for production and plant data; and AI and data products, for the operational data behind reports and models.

Azure SQL Database, Managed Instance or SQL Server on a virtual machine?

Azure SQL Database for new applications and anything that fits a single database, with patching, backups and high availability included. Managed Instance when an existing application relies on instance features such as SQL Server Agent, cross-database queries or CLR. SQL Server on an Azure virtual machine when you need control of the operating system or a feature the managed services lack. Each database is assessed against all three before a move.

Our SQL Server 2016 is out of support. What now?

SQL Server 2016 left extended support in July 2026, so security fixes now come only through paid Extended Security Updates. The usual routes are an upgrade to SQL Server 2025 or a move to Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database. Either way, compatibility is assessed first, the database compatibility level is kept while the application is retested, and the cut-over is rehearsed on a copy.

How quickly can SQL Server developers and DBAs start?

When the right SQL Server developer or DBA is available, the start is gated only by your interview and the NDA and IP assignment. Otherwise we run a search, which typically produces candidate profiles within two to three weeks, and nobody starts until you have said yes.

How do we hire SQL Server developers and DBAs through BigTree108?

Tell us the work, the seniority and the hours you need. We propose one or two people with their profiles, you interview them the way you would interview your own hire, and you sign one agreement with BIG TREE 108 LLC and receive one invoice a month.

Who owns the work they produce?

You do. Every specialist has a signed contract with BigTree108 that assigns all work product to the company, and our agreement with you assigns it onward. Code, designs and documents are delivered into your own repositories and tools, not kept where only we can change them.

Running SQL Server or Azure SQL?

Tell us the version, where it runs and what has to change. You get an answer within one business day: a plan, candidate profiles, or a scope for a health check of your instance.

Email hello@bigtree108.com How we respond