SQL Server Consulting Services

Unlock faster queries with trusted SQL Server expertise.

We find why your SQL server is slow, exposed or out of support, then fix it through tuning, health checks, upgrades, Azure migration or ongoing DBA support.

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SQL Server Consulting for Slow, Unsupported and Unmanaged Servers

  • Your reports and queries keep getting slower

    Pages that loaded in seconds now take minutes, month-end jobs overrun, and a bigger server only helped for a while. Users complain, and nobody can say why.

    Performance tuning

    Slow queries, blocking and timeouts cost you time and your users' patience. We begin with what the SQL Server engine itself reports, fix the biggest causes first and measure every change against a baseline. You receive a ranked list of changes, the fixes applied or documented for your team, and before-and-after numbers.

  • You are still running SQL Server 2016 or older

    Microsoft ended extended support for SQL Server 2016 on 14 July 2026, so it no longer receives regular security fixes unless you pay for Extended Security Updates. Every month on an unsupported version leaves your data more exposed.

    Upgrades and end-of-support planning

    If you run SQL Server 2016 or older, we map your instances and what depends on them, recommend an in-place or side-by-side route, test compatibility and plan the cutover with a rollback. You receive a dated plan, or we carry it out alongside your team.

  • Your DBA left, or you never had one

    Backups go untested, patches slip and nobody is watching the server. It runs fine until the day it does not.

    Managed DBA and support

    Want someone watching your databases without hiring a full-time DBA? We monitor, patch, check that backups restore, tune performance and respond to incidents within agreed response times. You choose whether support is on demand or a monthly service.

    High availability and disaster recovery

    If a server fails, how long are you down and how much data do you lose? We review or design availability groups, clustering and backup strategies against the downtime and data loss your business can accept, then rehearse the failover so the first real test is not a surprise.

  • An upgrade or Azure move keeps getting pushed back

    The risk feels too high, and no one has time to map what depends on the database. So the old server keeps running, and the problem grows.

    Migration to Azure SQL and other platforms

    Unsure whether an Azure VM, Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database fits? We check which features your instance relies on, such as Agent jobs, linked servers and cross-database queries, and recommend a destination with the trade-offs written down. We then migrate with validation and a rollback plan.

  • An auditor, insurer or board is asking for evidence

    You need to show that backups restore, access is controlled and the software is supported, and you are not sure you can.

    Security and compliance review

    Need to show an auditor or insurer that your SQL Server is protected? We review logins and permissions, encryption, patching and backup practices, then hand you a prioritized list of what to fix and how.

    Health checks

    Not sure your SQL Server is configured, backed up and secured the way it should be? A health check reviews backups and restores, integrity checks, patch level, configuration and availability, then ranks every finding by production risk. You get a written report and a walkthrough with your team.

Why Congruent Software For Your Microsoft SQL Server Needs?

  • 20+

    Years in Microsoft Analytics space

  • End-to-End SQL Server consulting experience

  • 30+

    Team of Experts

  • Successful Engagements with Global Clients

  • Security & Compliance First Approach

  • Experienced Across Diverse Industry Verticals

  • Technical & Functional Knowledge of Business Operations & Goals

  • User Training & Extensive Change Management

Hire a SQL Server Consultant: Health Check, Project, Support or Managed DBA

Consulting answers a specific question and leaves you a plan, support fixes problems when they happen, and managed services run your databases day to day. Pick the one that matches where you are now.

  • Health check

    What you get
    A written, risk-ranked review of backups, configuration, security and availability, plus a walkthrough
    How it is priced
    Fixed fee
    Best for
    You are unsure what state your SQL Server is in

  • Focused project

    What you get
    Senior consultant time for tuning, an upgrade, a migration or an architecture decision
    How it is priced
    Prepaid hour blocks or fixed scope
    Best for
    You have a defined problem or a deadline

  • On-demand support

    What you get
    Help with incidents, troubleshooting and questions when you need it
    How it is priced
    Hours or per incident
    Best for
    You have a DBA or developers who need a specialist on call

  • Managed DBA

    What you get
    Ongoing monitoring, patching, backup checks, tuning and incident response under agreed response times
    How it is priced
    Monthly or quarterly fee
    Best for
    You have no DBA, or too little time

Share Your SQL Server Needs

How a SQL Server Consulting Engagement Works

  1. A scoping call with a senior consultant

    We agree on the question you need answered and what a good result looks like. You leave with a short-written scope and a list of what we need from you.

  2. Read-only data capture

    We collect diagnostics from your servers, such as wait statistics, query history, configuration, backup history and availability status. Nothing is changed during this step, and you can see exactly what runs.

  3. Findings ranked by risk

    You receive written findings ordered by the risk they pose to production. Each one names its evidence, the fix we recommend and what could go wrong with it, and we walk your team through them in a working session.

  4. A plan your team can run, or we run it with you

    You can take the plan and carry it out yourselves, or we work alongside your DBAs on the changes and the cutover window. Every change comes with a rollback.

  5. Optional ongoing care

    If you want us to keep watch afterwards, we move you to on-demand support or a managed DBA service. If you do not, you keep everything we produced.

SQL Server 2016 End of Support: How Our Consultants Plan the Upgrade

Microsoft ended extended support for SQL Server 2016 on 14 July 2026. Your databases still run, but regular security updates have stopped, and any version older than 2016 is in the same position or worse. Here are the dates, and your options.

Support end dates by version

SQL Server extended support end dates by version
SQL Server version Extended support ends Status
SQL Server 2016 14 July 2026 Ended
SQL Server 2017 12 October 2027 Supported
SQL Server 2019 8 January 2030 Supported
SQL Server 2022 11 January 2033 Supported

Source: Microsoft's SQL Server lifecycle pages.

Upgrade in place or side by side?

  • An in-place upgrade is the shortest route: it reuses your existing server, and if something goes wrong, rollback means restoring a backup.
  • A side-by-side upgrade builds the new instance next to the old one and cuts over when you are ready, so the outage is short and the old server stays untouched until the new one has run a full business cycle.
  • The trade-off is more setup, because logins, jobs and certificates must be carried across. We recommend one based on your downtime window and appetite for risk.

Extended Security Updates: what they cover, and what they do not

  • Extended Security Updates (ESUs) buy you time, not a destination. Per Microsoft, a subscription protects you for up to three years after support ends, and updates are released only when a critical vulnerability is found, so there is no regular schedule.
  • ESUs add no new features or fixes you request, and they do not include support for the underlying version beyond problems installing the updates.
  • You subscribe through Azure Arc or SQL Server on an Azure VM, and the subscription stops when you upgrade or move to Azure. Microsoft sets the price, and we can help you model it against the cost of upgrading.

See Microsoft's ESU guidance

Move to Azure instead?

  • Moving a SQL Server 2016 workload to an Azure virtual machine no longer brings free ESUs, which it did for SQL Server 2014.
  • If you move, aim for a supported destination: Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure SQL Database, or a newer SQL Server version.

Share Your SQL Server Needs

SQL Server Hosting: On-Premises, Azure VM, Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database

Azure has three destinations that carry the SQL Server name, and they are not interchangeable. The features your instance depends on usually decide the answer.

SQL Server feature support by Azure option
What your instance uses SQL Server on an Azure VM Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure SQL Database
SQL Server Agent jobs Yes Yes, with some differences No (elastic jobs instead)
Cross-database queries Yes Yes, within the instance No (elastic queries instead)
Linked servers Yes Limited: to SQL Server and SQL Database, no distributed transactions No
CLR Yes Yes, with limits No
Service Broker Yes Yes, with differences No
Operating system access Yes No No

  • Stay on premises

    This fits when data must stay in your own data center, your hardware is recent, or low latency to local systems matters. You keep full control and the operating work. Upgrading to a supported version removes the end-of-support risk.

  • SQL Server on an Azure virtual machine

    This is the closest match to what you run today: the same features, with you managing the operating system and SQL Server. It is a sensible first step when an application cannot change.

  • Azure SQL Managed Instance

    This is the nearest thing to a drop-in move for an instance full of Agent jobs and cross-database queries, with Microsoft running the platform underneath.

  • Azure SQL Database

    This suits applications built around single databases that can live without Agent jobs, linked servers and CLR. It is the most hands-off option.

We map your instance's features against this table before we recommend anything, and we write down the trade-offs and your way back out.

SQL Server Experts for Reporting, ETL and Power BI

Your SQL Server rarely works alone: reports, data pipelines and dashboards all depend on it. Because we work across the Microsoft data stack, we plan every change with the whole chain in view.

  • Reporting after SSRS

    SQL Server 2025 does not include a new version of SSRS, and Power BI Report Server is the default reporting option. If you rely on SSRS reports, we help you choose between staying on SSRS 2022 for now, moving to Power BI Report Server, or moving to Power BI paginated reports, and we migrate or rebuild the reports with you.

  • ETL and SSIS modernization

    Nightly SSIS packages quietly run a lot of businesses. We keep them stable and fast, and when you are ready to modernize, we decide package by package whether to keep it, move it to Fabric or Azure Data Factory, or retire it.

  • Semantic models and Power BI

    Trusted numbers start with a well-built model. We design Power BI semantic models on top of your SQL Server data, tune slow reports, and move legacy SSAS cubes to modern models.

  • Fabric-ready data

    If Microsoft Fabric is on your roadmap, we prepare your SQL Server data for it, with a clean structure, sensible refresh and governance in place, so that moving is a step and not a rebuild.

Starting at the database and extending to reporting means one team understands the whole chain, from the table to the dashboard.

Few Of Our Microsoft SQL Server Projects

FAQs

What does a SQL Server consultant do?

A SQL Server consultant answers a specific question about your database environment, such as why it is slow, how to upgrade it or where it should run, and leaves you a written plan. They can also carry out the work. Typical engagements include performance tuning, health checks, upgrades, Azure migration, security reviews and ongoing DBA support.

How much does SQL Server consulting cost?

It depends on the service. A health check is usually a fixed fee, projects are priced by scope or prepaid hours, and managed DBA services are a recurring fee. A scoping call gives you a written estimate for your environment.

How long does a SQL Server health check take?

Timing depends on how many instances you have and how quickly access is arranged. The review is read-only and changes nothing on your servers.

SQL Server 2016 is out of support. What should we do now?

Microsoft ended extended support for SQL Server 2016 on 14 July 2026, so it no longer receives regular security updates. You can upgrade to a supported version, move to Azure, or subscribe to Extended Security Updates for up to three years while you plan. ESUs cover critical security fixes only, so they buy time and do not replace an upgrade.

Is an in-place or side-by-side upgrade safer?

Side by side is usually safer, because the old instance stays untouched until the new one has run a full business cycle, and the outage is short. In-place is faster and simpler, but its rollback is a restore. The right choice depends on your downtime window, how much depends on the server and how much risk you can accept.

Can you help if our SQL Server is down right now?

Yes, contact us straight away and tell us what you are seeing. We will help you get SQL Server back online, then find the root cause so the outage does not repeat. Have the exact error message, the last change made to the server and details of your most recent backup ready, as they speed up the diagnosis.

Do you work with Azure and AWS as well as on premises?

We work with SQL Server on premises, in Azure and on AWS. In Azure, that covers Azure virtual machines, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database. On AWS, it covers SQL Server on Amazon EC2 and Amazon RDS for SQL Server. We can also help you choose between them and move workloads from one to the other.

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