The 2 most important yet neglected positions...

I was having a conversation with a co-worker earlier this morning and somehow, it led to me talking about my rule of always hiring a DBA and a IT guy at very early stages of a startup. Those two roles may not necessarily be worthy of FTE positions but the work is there regardless how much people mistakenly think it's unimportant or better yet, "not important enough yet." More often than not, developers are not the best sys admins nor are they good DBAs. Code can be re-written and deployed relatively easy but restructuring databases or IT infrastructures bring a lot of unnecessary downtime and headaches in even the medium-run. So why not start right from the beginning? Of course, you might be thinking, the answer is quite simple: "cost". That's only a common misconception though because the ROI is much greater than the cost of doing things right from the start. With that said, yes, it does cost money but it doesn't have to be a FT salary. It can be trusted outsourced entities that only charge by the hours of work they do. With just maybe a few hundred dollars a month, you can most likely notice a huge difference in the results delivered that will be felt through out your company's existence.

Here's the value it brings:

1. Expertise in product evaluation and purchases which saves on overall costs
2. Ensures a reliable IT infrastructure & optimized database
3. Lessens downtime and labor on problem solving
4. Optimizes scalability
5. Stabilizes expense patterns

Think about it... I am absolutely confident about my theory and stand behind it with all my heart. However, I would love to hear any opposing opinions to see why my theory might be flawed.