Case Studies: Strategic Database Outsourcing

Outsourcing an entire database project isn't always necessary. In these case studies, find out how outsourcing parts of database projects worked for these organizations.

Outsourcing the Most Complex Aspects of Databases

By Dan Scharfman

This is the story of a $10 million multi-service agency with 150 staff members south of Boston, Massachusetts with a dozen programs, ranging from Headstart to Fuel Assistance, from WIC to Legal Assistance. In order to meet annual requirements for reporting to the federal government, it needed to consolidate data from several program-specific databases and report unduplicated households and individuals, as well as to build a reporting system for internal use.

It had no one on staff with the expertise to build such a system, so it selected a contract developer based on the recommendation of their colleagues. The developer recommended building a system that the agency could operate and manage on its own without dedicated IT staff time. Since it had few other database development needs and little time to manage a highly skilled programmer, it decided to accept the developer’s proposal.

The database structures and data entry screens were soon complete and worked well. At the end of the first year of operation, it came time to develop reports. The agency found that the reports had unexpected data and did not answer all of its questions, so they asked the data entry person to learn more about databases and start writing reports and queries. The staff soon discovered that developing queries between related tables and removing duplicates is not an easy thing. After a few weeks the agency went back to the original programmer and asked for help, but the programmer was too busy to accommodate its schedule.

The programmer directed the agency to a colleague. At the agency's request, this person wrote a successful sample report. The agency decided to have her write a series of reports, which she did in two weeks, giving the agency exactly the information it needed.

This experience led the agency and new programmer to develop a long-lasting support relationship. When it's time for the annual reports, they agree on specifications and letting the programmer get the job done. They feel a bit too dependent on the programmer, but have mitigated this by insisting on documentation and review by a third party.

In the end, the agency is very happy with its database and with the fact that it can get support and updates whenever it needs them. For development that goes beyond staff skills and for periodic updates, outsourcing works very well indeed.

Collaborative Outsourcing for Sustainable Results

By Tony Kaperick

As part of its strategic planning process, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) decided it wanted to increase the distribution of its educational materials, and it realized that the Web could be a good way to do this while keeping costs down. But the organization faced many questions that ultimately led it to outsource the research, selection, and part of the implementation to NetCorps , a nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity of other nonprofits through appropriate technology support NEDA's main questions were:

• What tool is going to be the most cost-effective given our needs?
• Should we buy existing software or build custom software?
• How can this integrate with our main Web site and our accounting program?
• What staff skills will be required to manage these new tools ourselves?

When the (NEDA) launched its new Web site (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org ), the idea of integrating e-commerce to sell its educational materials was daunting. So the organization kept it simple to start -- site visitors could see a list of books, posters, curricula, and other materials, and then they would download an Excel sheet to submit orders via regular mail or fax. This was kind of clunky for the staff and the site users, but it was a good start.

Even though NEDA staff had been processing credit card orders for years, integrating e-commerce with the Web was clearly a whole new ballgame and the organization wanted help making the right choice.

After early discussions about the project, NEDA and NetCorps staff agreed on the following points in order to make the project as sustainable and cost-effective as possible:

• NetCorps staff would act as the facilitator of the process, but the NEDA staff needed to stay engaged in the process to ensure a good fit with overall organizational goals and needs.
• NetCorps would research and recommend an approach that would integrate the various systems as much as possible, while balancing cost and the staff’s ability to manage the tools themselves.
• Once the needs were defined and the system selected, NetCorps would then do the initial set-up and staff training, and then turn the project over to the NEDA staff.

The collaborative process went something like this: NetCorps worked with NEDA to identify its needs. NetCorps researched the main approaches and reviewed them with the staff, who helped pick the best approach -- buying a third-party tool. NetCorps then explored specific tools and narrowed the list to a few that most closely met the organization's requirements. NEDA staff reviewed the list and made the final decision.

NetCorps then looked at what needed to be done (setting up a merchant account, getting an SSL certificate, etc.) and told NEDA what it should do. NetCorps did the initial configuration of the new tools, tested them, and documented how the components worked together. NetCorps then trained the designated NEDA staff on how to use the tools and sample data to get their new system up and running. With the basic set-up and training complete, the bulk of the work shifted to NEDA staff (including getting all the pages formatted and the database populated) while NetCorps' shifted its role to basic support.

NEDA staff agreed that this process worked for them. They saved a significant amount of time and money compared to doing it all themselves and they still felt like they had a strong role in the process.

Dan Scharfman is the managing associate of Baird Associates, Inc., a technology consulting and services company for nonprofit organizations. He has helped those organizations with both internal and outsourced database projects for nearly 20 years.

Tony Kaperick is a senior project manager at NetCorps, a nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity of other nonprofits through appropriate technology support. Tony works with groups across the country with technology projects including needs assessment and technology planning, Web site development, and database development and support. e.