Fractional support works when expectations are explicit.
A retainer should not mean an undefined bucket of hours and a phone number. It should identify the estate, operating responsibilities, priority system, planned capacity, communication cadence, response window, exclusions, and what happens when demand exceeds the agreement.
Typical responsibilities
Operational ownership
Review health, failures, maintenance, capacity, patch posture, recurring incidents, and technical debt.
Prioritized backlog
One visible queue ranked by business risk, urgency, effort, and dependency—not whoever asks most loudly.
Architecture guidance
HA/DR, upgrades, migrations, licensing, security, performance, and platform decisions.
Planned execution
Defined changes, scripts, maintenance-window support, validation, and documentation.
Team enablement
Runbooks, knowledge transfer, review sessions, and clearer ownership inside your team.
Stakeholder communication
Concise risk, work-completed, decision, and next-priority updates for technical and business leaders.
How an engagement begins
Most recurring relationships should start with an estate and risk baseline. The SQL Server Risk & Recovery Review establishes priorities and gives both sides a realistic view of the work before choosing monthly capacity.
Boundaries stated plainly
- Candidus does not imply a staffed 24/7 operations center or automatic emergency SLA.
- Response windows, after-hours availability, and escalation terms must be written into the engagement.
- Large projects and unplanned demand may require separate scope.
- Client security, access, approval, and change-control policies remain authoritative.
- The objective is to strengthen your operating capability—not create avoidable dependence.