SQL Server Database Design and Development
Ignyte Software designs, builds, and tunes SQL Server databases, reporting databases, and the reports that run on them. We fix slow queries, replace spreadsheets that have become systems of record, and migrate Access and aging platforms to SQL Server with the data verified at every step.
What we deliver
- Reports that take minutestoIndexed, tuned queries
- A spreadsheet as the system of recordtoA normalized SQL Server schema
- An Access file near its limitstoSQL Server with a web front end
- Reporting against production tablestoA reporting mart shaped for your questions
- Deadlocks and timeoutstoDiagnosed, fixed, and monitored
- Lexington, KYCentral Kentucky & nationwide
- SQL Server and T-SQLSchema design, tuning, and reporting
- Verified migrationsCounts and totals reconciled before cutover
- First conversation is freeWe reply within one business day
Last updated September 3, 2026
Database Work We Take On
Database problems rarely arrive labeled. They show up as a report nobody runs anymore because it takes too long, a spreadsheet three people edit at once, or an Access file that corrupted last month. These are the engagements behind those symptoms.
Tables, keys, constraints, and data types chosen so the database enforces your business rules and stays fast as it grows.
Indexing, execution-plan analysis, query rewrites, and deadlock resolution for databases that have slowed down under load or growth.
Reporting structures fed from your production systems on a schedule, so analysis stops competing with daily operations for the same tables.
Reports and dashboards built on views and stored procedures designed for them, with the definitions of each number agreed once and reused everywhere.
Scripted, repeatable moves to SQL Server with the data reconciled against the source before cutover.
Data models designed alongside the application team, whether ours or yours, so the schema is built for the workload from the first release.
How We Approach a Slow Database
Guessing at performance problems wastes money. We measure first, change the one thing the evidence points to, and measure again. Each step is small enough to undo, and the application keeps running throughout.
- 1Baseline
Capture the slowest queries, wait statistics, blocking, and execution plans as the system runs today, so every later change is measured against something.
- 2Diagnose
Trace each symptom to its cause: a missing or unused index, a query shape that defeats the optimizer, stale statistics, lock contention, or reporting that runs against live transactional tables.
- 3Fix the highest-impact item
Make the smallest change that removes the most pain, whether that is an index, a rewritten procedure, or moving a report onto its own tables.
- 4Verify
Compare against the baseline on production-sized data, confirm nothing else regressed, and only then move to the next item.
- 5Keep it that way
Put index maintenance, statistics updates, and monitoring in place so the database does not drift back, and hand you a record of what changed and why.
Design Rules We Hold To
A database outlives every application built on it, so the decisions made in the schema are the ones that cost most to change later. These are the rules we keep whatever the project.
Keys, foreign keys, and check constraints live in SQL Server, so bad data is rejected no matter which application or import wrote it.
Every data move runs from scripts we can repeat, and we reconcile row counts and totals against the source before cutover.
Analysis runs on views, marts, or a warehouse shaped for the questions you ask, so a heavy report never slows down order entry.
A backup that has never been restored is a hope. We confirm the restore works and write down how long it takes.
What You End Up With
A database your team can trust the numbers from, and change without fear.
- Reports and screens that return in seconds, with a before-and-after record of what changed.
- A schema that enforces your business rules and is documented well enough for the next developer.
- Your data migrated, reconciled against the source, and backed up with a tested restore.
- Reporting structures where each figure is defined once and reused in every report.
- Maintenance and monitoring in place, with the option of an ongoing health-check arrangement.
Technologies
Related Reading
The most common database engagement in more depth, and the services it usually pairs with.
Replacing an Access database with a web application
Moving Access data to SQL Server and the interface to the web.
Read the guide ServiceLegacy application modernization
Staged migrations for the applications that sit on top of the database.
See the service ServiceSystems integration
Pipelines and synchronization between SQL Server and the systems around it.
See the serviceCommon Questions
Usually, and often by a wide margin. Most slow reporting comes down to missing indexes, query structure, or reports that run straight against busy transactional tables. Each of those can be fixed without replacing the application.
Yes. Access-to-SQL-Server migration, often with a new web front end, is one of our most common engagements. We reconcile the migrated data against the original before anyone switches over.
We offer ongoing tuning and health-check arrangements alongside project work. Index maintenance, backup verification, and a regular look at the slowest queries keep a database from drifting back to where it started.
Often a reporting mart is enough: a smaller set of tables shaped around the questions you ask, refreshed from the production database on a schedule. We recommend a full warehouse when you need to combine several source systems or keep history the source systems discard.
Usually not at first. Indexes, statistics, and rewritten stored procedures live in the database. When the application itself builds a slow query, we show you where it is and what to change.
Ready to talk about database design & development?
We reply within one business day, and the first conversation is always free.
Start the Conversation →