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Arjen as Support Engineer / Trainer

Some of you have already noticed my shift, I joined the MySQL AB professional services department full-time as a Support Engineer. Since I started at MySQL in 2001 I already did training part-time in the Australia and New Zealand region (next to my Documentation job, back then). And ye, I’ll still be at some conferences, particularly in Australia.

So, Arjen in Support. It’s great to get my hands dirty again (with things other than tricky licensing questions ;-). Support, by the way, is like the insurance you wish you’d taken out when your house is on fire.

MySQL’s support offering is part of MySQL Network, our subscription service with a very simple per-server/per-year pricing model: we don’t care about funny stuff like cores or database size.
It’s available from USD 595 per server (Basic), up to USD 4995 per server (Platinum) where you get 24×7 support with a 30 minute response time and emergency phone service, with a few other options inbetween. The general complaint I’ve heard about MySQL Network is that it’s too cheap (not kidding) but don’t let that bother you 😉

This kind of offering, just like insurance, works because of the numbers. Indeed, MySQL usually runs very well and you may not need support all the time. But as you scale and get to deal with tricky OS and other infrastructure issues, you may want some advice. And if something goes wrong on a production system, what’s your key concern? That’s right, speed. For many companies now, they’re either online or … yea.
You may be able to work things out on your own there too, if you have the time, but having the backing from people who’ve seen lots of stuff before can be really great, and so you can also prevent nasties from happening in the first place. Perhaps it’s a bit like hiring some extra DBAs on demand 😉

Support is actually only part of the MySQL Network package, you also get update and security alerts, knowledge base, and suchlike. Higher levels also have stuff like consultative support and query advice.
The update alerts are particularly handy, as they are focused on your specific use of the software. I.e. if you use InnoDB and replication, you’ll get a note if a new release of your major version affects those features; this saves you the hassle of wading through long changelogs… not rocket science, but handy!

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1 thought on “Arjen as Support Engineer / Trainer

  1. This kind of offering, just like insurance, works because of the numbers.

    Did you know my father invented the “extended service warranty” for TVs when he was a salesman for GE in the 1970’s? I’m sure it’s one of those “lots of people invented it around the same time” things, but it’s kind of neat.

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