SQL Server & Azure · Now booking new engagements
15+ years of SQL Server & Azure engineering — senior-led, fixed-fee. Now AI-augmented.
Candidus Data Lab keeps mission-critical SQL Server and Azure platforms fast, secure, and online — then applies enterprise AI to cut the manual work out of running them.
No prep required. You get a straight read on the problem, and a written fixed-fee scope within 24–48 hours if it's a fit.
Remote-first — available to businesses across the United States and internationally.
How Candidus Data Lab works
Built for reliability
Always On, clustering, and disaster recovery designed so outages don't happen on your watch.
Trusted in high-stakes settings
Experience across complex, business-critical environments and 24/7 production operations.
Direct access to the work
No account-management layers between you and the engineering.
No surprises
Fixed-fee engagements and a written plan before any work begins.
For teams whose database is business-critical and under-resourced
A short qualification list, so you can tell in under a minute whether a fit call is worth your time.
Likely a strong fit
Most engagements start from one of these.
- You run mission-critical SQL Server or Azure SQL with no dedicated DBA — or one who is stretched thin.
- Performance, uptime, or backup and recovery confidence has become a recurring conversation with leadership.
- A migration or version upgrade is on the roadmap — on-prem to Azure, or SQL Server 2016/2019 to 2022/2025.
- Compliance, security, or audit pressure means the environment can no longer stay under-documented.
- You want a fixed fee, a written scope, and a senior engineer actually doing the work.
Probably not a fit
Said plainly, so nobody wastes a call.
- Application or front-end development unrelated to the data platform.
- Open-ended hourly staffing with no defined outcome.
- Work that requires a full-time on-site presence.
- Non-Microsoft database platforms as the primary scope.
A database practice built for high-stakes environments
Candidus Data Lab is a database engineering and advisory practice serving regulated, mission-critical enterprise environments. The practice is led by a senior data engineering, management & governance specialist with extensive hands-on experience across complex, business-critical environments — and every Candidus Data Lab engagement is delivered at that same senior level.
The practice exists for one reason: most database environments were built and maintained by teams that never expected to pair them with AI. Candidus Data Lab closes that gap — modernizing and securing SQL Server and Azure SQL environments, and applying enterprise AI tools (Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, and similar) to build intelligent runbooks and knowledge workflows that cut manual troubleshooting time.
Founder-led, senior by default
Every engagement is scoped and delivered by a senior practitioner — no handoffs, no junior substitutions.
Senior Database & AI Engineering Practice
Founder-led delivery · Candidus Data Lab
15+ years of hands-on SQL Server, Azure, and data engineering work — performance tuning, high availability and disaster recovery, migrations, and the automation that keeps all of it running. That experience includes manager-level technical leadership, so scoping, risk, and communicating clearly with stakeholders are part of the engagement rather than an afterthought.
More recent work centers on enterprise AI agents and operational automation: applying AI where it measurably reduces manual troubleshooting and runbook effort, with a human in the loop for anything that touches production.
- 15+ years hands-on SQL Server, Azure & data engineering
- Manager-level technical leadership
- Palantir Foundry Aware certified
- Enterprise AI agents & operational automation
- SQL Server 2016, 2019, 2022 & 2025
- Multi-terabyte environments, 10TB+
- 24/7 production operations
- Confidential by default — client and employer details are never disclosed
Where CDL can help
Core practice areas — with the flexibility to take on adjacent technical challenges.
SQL Server & Azure SQL modernization
For teams running mission-critical databases that are slow, fragile, or under-documented.
- Performance tuning (Query Store, execution plans, indexing)
- Always On, clustering, replication, log shipping & DR
- Security & compliance hardening
- Version upgrades & on-prem-to-Azure migration
Data platform operations, automation & governance
For teams that need reliable, well-governed database operations, not just a one-time fix.
- SSIS / SSISDB ETL operations
- PowerShell & Azure Automation, GitHub CI/CD
- Monitoring, health checks & runbooks
- Migration & environment-refresh logistics
AI-augmented database & knowledge operations
For teams ready to apply enterprise AI where it has real operational impact.
- Intelligent runbooks & knowledge workflows
- Copilot / Azure AI Foundry / ChatGPT integration into ops
- Human-in-the-loop troubleshooting automation
- Prompt design for operational knowledge retrieval
From first call to finished work
The same clear process on every engagement — no surprises, no hourly guesswork.
Free 20-min fit call
A working conversation about your environment and the problem. No prep required, no obligation.
Written scope + fixed quote
Within 24–48 hours you receive a clear plan and a fixed price — before any work begins.
You approve, work starts
Nothing happens in your environment until you sign off on scope and price.
Delivery & handoff
Documented changes, runbooks, and a clean handoff — your team owns everything.
Hands-on, not slide decks
Engineering-led, not advisory-only
Working systems delivered and fixed directly — not a recommendations deck handed off to someone else to implement.
DBA depth + AI fluency
Deep, hands-on SQL Server and Azure engineering, paired with real experience applying enterprise AI to operations. Most firms bring only one side of that.
Transparent scoping
Every engagement starts with a free fit call and a written scope — so expectations are clear on both sides before work begins.
How engagements are structured
One-time audit
A scoped audit of your database or data platform with a written findings report and prioritized roadmap. Fixed fee, quoted after a fit call.
Defined migration or build
A scoped, fixed-fee project — database migration, automation build, or governance implementation — with clear milestones and deliverables.
Fractional DBA / advisory
Ongoing monthly support for teams that need continuous database or data platform coverage without a full-time hire.
Experience Highlights
Representative of hands-on database engineering experience. Details are generalized to protect confidentiality and are not tied to any specific employer, client, or Candidus Data Lab engagement.
Designed AI-enabled knowledge and operational workflows that reduce manual troubleshooting effort across production and nonproduction SQL Server and Azure SQL environments.
Extensive experience supporting complex, business-critical SQL Server environments across multiple SQL Server generations, including high-availability architectures and large-scale database platforms.
Supported high-availability SQL Server environments for business-critical and ERP systems, focused on uptime, security, compliance, and business continuity.
Provided 24/7 production support and led legacy SQL Server upgrades, migrations, and reliability improvements, including clustering, replication, and Always On availability groups.
Common questions
Do you only work on SQL Server and Azure?
Database and data platforms are the core specialty — SQL Server, Azure SQL, and the automation and AI layer around them. The practice also covers broad, hands-on enterprise IT: automation, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, and governance. If your challenge touches something adjacent, bring it to the fit call and we'll tell you straight whether it's a good fit.
What makes Candidus Data Lab different?
Senior-level engineering on every engagement, with no layers between you and the people doing the work. Enterprise-grade rigor, without the overhead and handoffs that come with larger firms.
How do you handle confidential or sensitive data?
Every engagement is treated as confidential by default. Client-specific, proprietary, classified, or restricted information is never disclosed, and we're glad to sign an NDA before any detailed discussion of your environment.
What if our problem turns out not to be a fit?
You'll know on the fit call. If it falls outside the practice's expertise, we'll say so directly — and point you toward the right resource where we can.
How fast can we start?
It depends on access and scope, but most engagements can begin within a week or two of an approved plan.
How is pricing determined?
Every engagement is fixed-fee, scoped after the free fit call — so you know the full cost before any work begins. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Let's talk about your environment
Book a free 20-minute call. You'll get a clear read on the problem and a straight answer on the fastest path to solving it — whether that's a quick fix or a larger engagement.
Book a free 20-min fit callEvery inquiry receives a response within 1 business day.