NewGlobe believes every child has the right to a world-class education. Since 2007, they’ve partnered with governments, communities, teachers and parents to support nearly one million students and hundreds of schools across Africa and India.
Data and analytics are a core element of their program. The organization uses near real-time data, analytics and advanced technology to constantly make changes that improve student learning outcomes. Even in the most remote areas, they track a variety of metrics, from student and teacher attendance to test scores and lesson pacing. Their innovations free teachers from administrative tasks and give them more time to focus on teaching.
Keeping these critical systems up and running falls to Lalit Shah and his team. Shah is Director of IT Operations for NewGlobe and works from their headquarters in Hyderabad, India.
As the organization grew, Shah’s team needed to support more schools and teachers, as well as new geographies. That led to more demands on the education network’s Microsoft SQL Server applications. Shah realized it was time to add staff.
However, finding the right resource proved difficult. NewGlobe wanted an individual to handle day-to-day database administration, but also fluent in Microsoft SQL Server and able to tackle more strategic projects, such as upgrades, replication, archiving and disaster recovery.
When hiring an FTE did not pan out, Shah turned to Pythian. Through a combination of managed and professional services, Pythian now coordinates Microsoft SQL Server database management activities for their global education network.
