DBA-as-a-Service

Startups frequently encounter challenges when modernizing their data infrastructure to support rapid growth and evolving business needs. BUILDSTR addresses this by embedding specialized database engineers directly into customer teams, providing expertise in architecting, administering, tuning, and migrating databases. Our engineers operate with a Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) mindset, emphasizing reliability, performance, and observability from the outset. This approach ensures that even during periods of significant change—such as database migrations—critical business systems remain stable and performant.

A key area of BUILDSTR’s expertise is migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL or Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. This transition is often driven by the need to reduce licensing costs, increase extensibility, and leverage managed services that offload routine maintenance tasks.

The migration process, however, is complex and requires careful planning due to differences in data types, stored procedures, and SQL dialects between SQL Server and PostgreSQL. BUILDSTR’s engineers help navigate these challenges by using tools such as the AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) and AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), ensuring that schema objects and application code are properly adapted for PostgreSQL compatibility. Our experience allows startups to avoid common pitfalls, minimize downtime, and realize the cost and flexibility benefits of open-source databases on AWS.

Another area where BUILDSTR adds significant value is in migrating from self-managed PostgreSQL, whether on-premises or cloud-hosted, to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL or Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. Aurora offers enhanced scalability, availability, and performance while remaining compatible with PostgreSQL, making it an attractive option for startups expecting rapid growth or needing increased resilience.

The migration process involves strategies such as using native PostgreSQL utilities (pg_dump, pg_restore), logical replication, or the AWS Database Migration Service to move data with minimal disruption.

BUILDSTR’s engineers ensure best practices are followed, from provisioning target clusters to managing roles and permissions, so that startups can take full advantage of open source and managed database offerings without sacrificing reliability or observability.