Philosophy
The Importance of Audits
Audits are important. They help organizations determine how secure, stable, and
efficient their SQL Server Deployments are. They also play a key part in capacity
planning, and in determining the viability of new endeavors or business initiatives.
Simply stated: Audits can help save money, ensure continued success,
and facilitate customer satisfaction and confidence.
Why My Approach Matters
Audits are only beneficial if the findings are presented in a meaningful way.
Especially when something fails part of the Audit.
Problems discovered during an audit either represent a lack of knowledge about
industry-standard best practices, or the lack of experience and expertise needed to
successfully implement that practice without succumbing to a pitfall. As such, my audits don't
present you with a simple pass/fail, or x/5 stars approach to reporting on problems
encountered, or exposed, during the audit.
Instead, my audits identify which areas of your deployment need help, and then provide you
with the knowledge, guidance, and skills needed to remedy those problems within your own, unique,
environment.
This approach is what makes the Findings Document so important and so valuable.
The Findings Document
Each Audit is accompanied by a Findings Document. The main purpose of the Findings Document
is to identify problem areas, and then provide you with clear, concise, and well-documented
information tailored to your environment that helps you grasp the importance of any
areas of concern while providing you with potential solutions, recommendations, and
insights into the best ways to remedy concerns or shortcomings.
The best thing about the Findings Document is that it helps present a very clear
roadmap that will take your current SQL Server implementation from where it to a best practices
deployment that adheres to Industry Best Practices for Security, Manageability, Performance, Recoverability,
and Extensibility.