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Real work.
Measurable results.

A selection of engagements where we improved performance, resolved critical issues, and helped organisations get more from their data platforms. Names withheld where confidentiality applies.

Case Studies

What we’ve delivered

Technology Distribution
From sluggish ERP to a well-oiled machine
A leading national networking distributor was crippled by Sage ERP slowdowns affecting day-to-day operations. We conducted a comprehensive SQL Server audit and fixed the environment from the ground up.
4
Key problem areas identified
100%
Recommendations implemented
Daily
Automated health checks deployed

The client was experiencing severe performance issues in their Sage ERP system. Users across the business were frustrated by crippling slowdowns impacting day-to-day operations. They turned to AstuteTech for answers.

Our SQL Server Environment Audit uncovered issues across four key areas:

  • Instance Configuration: Outdated SQL build, MAXDOP misconfigured, AdHoc Workload Optimisation disabled.
  • Database Health: TempDB on the C:\ drive, percentage-based file growth across 18 databases, AUTO_CLOSE and Auto-Shrink enabled — a recipe for fragmentation.
  • Database Maintenance: No maintenance plan in place. We implemented Ola Hallengren's solution to automate index optimisation, statistics updates, and integrity checks.
  • Missing Indexes: Several high-frequency queries lacked supporting indexes, causing full scans and excessive I/O on every execution.
  • Unused Database Cleanup: Redundant databases consuming unnecessary disk space — identified, confirmed, and safely removed.

All recommendations were implemented. Results were immediate — faster query execution, reduced I/O contention, more efficient backups, and a stable, well-maintained environment. Automated daily health checks now proactively monitor backup status, job failures, disk space, wait stats, and error logs.

Pharmaceutical
Transforming database performance — 23 minutes to 6 seconds
A leading pharmaceutical company was experiencing critical SQL Server performance degradation. A single query was taking 23 minutes to execute. We fixed it.
23m
Original query runtime
6s
Runtime after optimisation
99.6%
Reduction in execution time

The client contacted AstuteTech due to significant performance degradation in their SQL Server environment. The impact on operational efficiency was severe — a critical query was taking 23 minutes to complete.

AstuteTech initiated a comprehensive SQL Server Audit to diagnose the root causes. Our team meticulously analysed the environment, identifying key areas for improvement. Upon completion of the audit, the DBA team focused on Query Optimisation, leveraging deep expertise and advanced techniques to fine-tune the problematic query.

The optimisation efforts yielded impressive results: the query's running time was reduced from 23 minutes to just 6 seconds — a 99.6% reduction. The overall database performance saw a substantial boost, enabling smoother and faster data processing across the environment.

Insurance Software
Reviving critical systems — a database recovery success story
A leading software provider to the insurance industry faced a critical application failure due to database corruption. We restored full functionality with minimal downtime.
Critical
Application restored to full function
Minimal
Downtime during recovery
100%
Data integrity preserved

The client — a leading software provider to the insurance industry — was facing a critical issue. Their application was non-functional due to database corruption, threatening to significantly impact their business operations.

AstuteTech followed a structured assessment and repair approach:

  • Assessment: Thorough assessment of the database to understand the extent and nature of the corruption.
  • Identification: Our team identified data inconsistencies in several database tables, pinpointing the exact areas requiring attention.
  • Repair: We fixed the problematic tables, applying expertise in database management to ensure comprehensive recovery.

AstuteTech managed to repair the database with minimal downtime, restoring full application functionality and allowing the company to resume operations seamlessly. Our intervention also reinforced the long-term reliability of their software solution.

Fleet & Fuel Management · AWS
Scaling database performance for a fleet management platform on AWS
Routine database maintenance jobs were failing as data volumes grew on a SQL Server environment running on AWS. We re-engineered the maintenance strategy to handle scale.
Faster
Maintenance job execution
Scalable
Architecture for continued growth
Zero
Job failures post-implementation

As data volumes continued to grow on the client's Microsoft SQL Server platform running on AWS, routine database maintenance jobs began to fail. The existing processes were not designed to handle the scale the business had reached.

AstuteTech implemented a set of performance-focused improvements:

  • Index Maintenance Optimisation: An improved index maintenance strategy was introduced to ensure indexes remain efficient without impacting system performance — even as the database continues to scale.
  • Re-engineered Data Archiving Process: The existing archiving process was redesigned to handle large datasets more efficiently, significantly reducing execution time and improving reliability.

The result: faster and more reliable maintenance jobs, improved database performance, and scalable processes capable of handling continued data growth. This engagement highlights the importance of proactive database optimisation when working with large datasets in cloud environments.

Logistics
Tackling timeouts and speeding up month-end processing
A leading logistics company was experiencing timeouts and significant delays during month-end processing. We optimised a critical stored procedure, eliminated blocking, and removed application latency entirely.
Eliminated
Application latency
Reduced
Blocking issues in stored procedures
Faster
Month-end processing

A leading logistics company was experiencing timeouts and significant slowdowns during their critical month-end processing cycle. The bottleneck was traced to a stored procedure that was causing blocking issues across the application.

By implementing smart query hints, AstuteTech optimised the stored procedure — significantly reducing blocking and eliminating application latency. The result was faster processing and a materially improved experience for users running month-end operations.

Partnership

AstuteTech & Silicon Sky

When applications slow down or performance issues arise, businesses often find themselves caught between two perspectives — should infrastructure and resources be improved? Or does the problem reside within the data? The fact is, both elements are critical.

Silicon Sky is renowned for its high-performance cloud solutions, managed services, and enterprise-grade infrastructure. AstuteTech specialises in database administration, query and performance tuning, warehousing, analytics, and business intelligence reporting.

Together, this partnership creates a powerful synergy: Silicon Sky provides the robust, scalable cloud environment, while AstuteTech ensures that data is optimised, structured, and ready to deliver real business value — without unnecessary over-provisioning.

What the partnership delivers
Cloud + Data expertise,
end to end
Seamless cloud migration for organisations modernising their data infrastructure
Optimised data performance within Silicon Sky’s high-performance environment
Cost-effective solutions that avoid unnecessary resource over-spend
Enhanced security & compliance through governance-driven data strategies

Is your system
underperforming?

We assess, we fix, we improve — and we document everything so you understand exactly what changed and why. Let’s take a look at your environment.