Database Design, Engineering & Optimisation

Build and optimise databases that perform - clean data models, reliable performance, and operational practices that keep systems fast, stable, and supportable.

Database issues rarely announce themselves politely. They appear as slow applications, timeouts, inconsistent reporting, failed integrations, and an expanding operational burden. In many environments the root cause is a combination of poor data modelling, missing indexes, uncontrolled growth, inconsistent query patterns, and a lack of operational discipline around backups, maintenance, and change control. The result is technical debt that directly impacts service delivery and customer experience.

LW IT Solutions delivers Database Design, Engineering & Optimisation to stabilise and improve database performance and maintainability. We support common relational platforms used in modern application delivery - such as PostgreSQL and SQL Server/Azure SQL - and we focus on practical outcomes: a clean model, improved query performance, sensible indexing, predictable maintenance, and clear operational runbooks. Where data movement is involved, we can also define safe ETL/ELT patterns and data quality checks so downstream analytics and reporting remain trustworthy.

Talk through your requirements and leave with a clear next-step plan.

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Service Overview

Highlights

Supports PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Azure SQL based on your estate
Focus on measurable outcomes such as latency reduction and stability
Schema and indexing changes designed to hold up as data volumes grow
Operational routines for backups, restores, and maintenance included
Documentation and runbooks to keep databases supportable over time

Business Benefits

Improved application performance through targeted schema, index, and query changes
Reduced timeouts and incident volume by addressing root causes rather than symptoms
Lower long-term maintenance cost with clearer data models and controlled growth
Improved operational resilience with defined backup, restore, and maintenance routines
Safer releases through documented change processes and migration practices

Typical use cases

Applications experiencing slow performance or frequent database timeouts
Rapidly growing datasets causing query regression and instability
Database estates with ad-hoc schema changes and limited documentation
Preparing for migrations, major releases, or platform upgrades
Improving reliability of reporting extracts and downstream integrations

Objectives & deliverables

What Success Looks Like

Improve performance with measurable reductions in latency and timeouts
Establish a clean, maintainable schema aligned to the domain model
Introduce indexing and query improvements that survive real-world growth
Reduce operational risk with backup, restore, and maintenance discipline
Enable safer data movement and reporting through controlled ETL/ELT patterns and data quality checks

What You Get

Database assessment report: key issues, root causes, and prioritised recommendations
Performance improvements: indexing changes and query optimisations (where in scope)
Schema/model recommendations with clear rationale and risk assessment
Operational plan: backup/restore guidance, maintenance and monitoring recommendations
Runbook and documentation pack to support ongoing operations
Backlog for follow-on work (hardening, refactor, scaling, data quality uplift)

How It Works

Discovery - confirm platform, workloads, pain points, and success measures
Assessment - review schema design, query patterns, indexing, and operational posture
Optimisation plan - prioritise changes with expected impact, risk notes, and sequencing
Implementation - apply agreed schema, index, and query improvements with validation
Operationalise - define backup, restore, maintenance, and monitoring routines
Handover - deliver documentation, runbooks, and a backlog for follow-on improvements

Engagement Options

Health Check - assessment and prioritised recommendations without implementation
Performance Sprint - focused optimisation for a defined set of slow queries or workloads
Design & Build - schema and database design for a new application or service
Ongoing Support - retained support for tuning, migrations, and operational improvements

Common Bundles

Customers who use this service often bundle with these services

Backend API Development (FastAPI/Node)
Design and build backend APIs with clear contracts, secure authentication, observability, and cloud-ready deployment using FastAPI or Node.js.

CI/CD & DevOps Enablement
Implement CI/CD pipelines with automated builds, controlled deployments, and release discipline that improves reliability, security, and delivery speed.

ETL/ELT Pipeline Design & Delivery
Design and deliver reliable ETL and ELT pipelines with batch and event-driven ingestion, monitoring, and cost-aware performance tuning.

Azure Data Factory (ADF) Enablement
Stand up and standardise Azure Data Factory for reliable data integration with secure runtimes, scheduled pipelines, and operational monitoring.

Logic Apps Integration Services
Design and operate Azure Logic Apps workflows with resilient integrations, connector management, error handling, monitoring, and runbooks for ongoing operations.