Timesheets.com Counts On Percona For Database Management

The Challenge

Since 2004, Timesheets.com has been a leader in web-based time tracking for both billing and payroll used by companies around the world. Timesheets.com helps companies manage their employees’ time, expenses, vacation and travel, as well as provides reporting services so that businesses can improve their efficiency and profitability. For a company with customers around the world, availability, uptime and performance are all critical. With multiple open source databases within its applications, management was handled by a small patchwork team of internal developers and external contractors that were responsible for all the various aspects of database operations, including schema design and architecture, tuning and performance, backup/restore and disaster recovery, and system security. For Anthony Galano, Chief Technology Officer and Lead Developer at Timesheets.com, while this team was able to handle the majority of issues, there were gaps in what they could achieve, which became a drain on their efficiency.

The Solution

Galano worked with his team to understand the different database implementations that were in place and what support they needed to improve performance and close the gaps. As this process went on, it became apparent that the amount of work required was affecting productivity. Rather than concentrating on the company’s product and improving service to customers, time was spent on database management and maintenance tasks. Galano decided to look for a partner that could take over the management of the database implementations, providing the necessary skills around operations, availability, and security. Because the company uses both MySQL and MongoDB in its applications,Galano decided to work with Percona because of their unbiased, multi-database expertise.

Working With Percona

Percona provides Timesheets.com with a one-stop shop for all its database needs. Using Percona’s Managed Services, Galano has consolidated all aspects of maintaining and expanding its database systems to a single dedicated team and point of contact. As part of the move over to Percona, the Managed Services team implemented multiple recommendations and improvements to the existing systems, as well as expanding its policies and procedures around data operations and security. The Percona team manages a robust backup and disaster policy alongside its systems implementations, which helps Timesheets.com to meet its aggressive business requirements for uptime, recovery time objectives, and recovery point objectives. Alongside this, Percona provides multiple communications channels for customers to get help from experts including collaborative document systems, ticketing systems, instant messaging channels, and video conferencing. Timesheets.com counts on Percona for managed services and support across its MySQL and MongoDB instances. With Percona, Timesheets.com has improved performance, availability and security across its application stack.