High Performance Database Consulting
- Build, repair and optimize complex databases
- Work directly with a top-tier database expert
Services
Database Architecture
Build your database with a rock-solid foundation
Good table design means your database can expand as large as you need while maintaining optimal performance. I can help you build a world-class database solution, or redesign what you have into something faster and more durable.
SQL Development
Quickly develop the tools you need to work with your data
SQL programming is the only way to retrieve and report the contents of your database. I’ve been working with all the intricacies of SQL for 25 years. I can quickly and efficiently write the SQL you need for reporting, ETL, or ad-hoc query engines.
Performance Tuning
Optimize your database for sub-second response times
Adjustments to your tables, indexes, hardware and SQL code can often provide enormous improvements in query response times. Performance tuning is my favorite task – let me use my years of experience to help you get the sub-second response times you deserve.
Data Migration / ETL
Smoothly migrate from one database to another
Moving data from one platform to another, or changing table structures, is a tricky endeavor. Every situation requires a unique analysis and solution. I can help plan and execute your ETL or migration effort to minimize downtime and ensure data integrity.
Database-Intensive Websites
Build beautiful apps and websites that front massive databases
Creating elegant user front-ends that access millions of rows of data is not like building a static WordPress site. You need ad-hoc query tools, fast response times and minimized web traffic. My team and I have lots of experience doing this and would love to help out!
Intro Video (1 minute)
Are you using Microsoft SQL Server?
I have special expertise with MS SQL Server, having worked with it for 25 years (since version 4.2). Although I work with many other databases also (e.g., Postgres, Redshift, Oracle, Sybase, Access), I have a particular depth of experience with SQL Server. I also happen to think it’s one of the very best database engines available, and it’s a pleasure to work with. You’re in extra good hands if this is your database of choice.
Clients
- Designed database schema for tracking health care providers
- Complex restructuring of data resulted in a fourfold increase in response time
- Wrote optimized ad-hoc query tool in C++
- Provided Sybase DBA services & performance tuning
- Designed database schema for tracking legal matters
- Wrote tool to auto-generate table definitions
- Supported the international bond trading desk
- Reduced SQL query times from 5 minutes to 5 seconds
- Optimized trade processing code using set logic
- Analyzed obscure and undocumented vendor databases
- Extracted all possible data for internal use
- Created data archive system
- Developed mission critical tools for real-time treaty portfolio analysis
- Built a portfolio report used daily by senior management
- Created a data warehouse of location data with fast ad-hoc querying
- Built a cloud data warehouse integrating data from multiple sources
- Built JSON extraction tool with Python, SQL and AWS Lambda
- Enabled real-time data access to replace monthly data extracts
Industries
- Healthcare Analytics
- Investment Banking
- Mortgage Servicing
- Biotech
- Renewable Energy
- Reinsurance
- Manufacturing
- Marketing Analytics
- Software Consulting
- Event Planning
- Real Estate
- Ecommerce
- State Government
- Telephony
- Internet Backbone
- Non-Profits
- Academia
- Human Resources
- Music
- Enterprise Software
- Healthcare Analytics
- Real Estate
- Investment Banking
- Mortgage Servicing
- Biotech
- Renewable Energy
- Ecommerce
- State Government
- Telephony
- Internet Backbone
- Reinsurance
- Non-Profits
- Manufacturing
- Marketing Analytics
- Software Consulting
- Event Planning
- Academia
- Human Resources
- Music
- Enterprise Software
- Extensive Experience
Projects
THE SIFTER
Barbara Ketcham Wheaton was one of the first food historians in America and is renowned in her field. Now 89, she has been dreaming for decades of building a free public database with every historical cookbook from medieval times to the present.
Starting with 100,000 recipes she has collected in her private database over many years’ effort, we are now building out this website, called The Sifter, to be a Wikipedia-like research tool that anyone can use or contribute to. It has a highly detailed search function, plus filtering, exporting, auditing, multi-language support, and many other features.
It’s been an honor to work on this site, which was officially released in July 2020 at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, and has since been featured in news articles around the globe, including the Wall Street Journal.
TAXTRIM
After moving into a new home, my neighbors told me that I was over-assessed. I didn’t believe it initially but decided to simply analyze my home against every other home in our town and see what the numbers said. It turned out that I was two standard deviations above the average for homes similar to mine. Armed with detailed spreadsheets, I was able to get a 25% property tax reduction.
That was the impetus for developing TaxTrim, a site that lets New York homeowners compare their assessment against all of their neighbors, comparing both recent sales and other assessments. It provides detailed statistical comparisons and has point-and-click tools to build an optimized property tax grievance.
To date, we have helped hundreds of people grieve their taxes, and savings in the 10-30% range are quite common. We currently have data on over 2 million homes. Ultimately, I hope to expand this tool to a nationwide audience.
How I Work
I do projects large and small. Some clients need a quick repair, others have massive projects that may go on for years. When I take on a project, I am fully committed, however long it takes.
Depending on requirements, it may be just me, or I may bring on additional specialists to help out. In those cases, I do the design and architecture, the core database work, and I oversee and review everyone else’s work.
I do all work remotely.
White Mountains Re
Why Catskill Data is Different
I’m a sole practitioner, not a large company. You’ll be dealing directly with me. I sometimes create ad-hoc teams to work on larger projects, but I do all the design and database work personally.
I have a deep shelf of other practitioners that I can call upon as needed, either to solve small problems or to build larger products. If you need help in some subspecialty that I have less experience with, I can usually find someone I know who does, or if needed find someone new. I know how to vet them properly, I’ll oversee all their work, and I only work with people in US time zones.
Hiring me (or us, as the case may be) means you can free up your existing employees’ time, you’ll only be billed for actual time worked, your commitment level is low, and there’s no middleman or bureaucracy. We’re fast, efficient, and highly experienced.