My first job as a SQL Server DBA was for a company that had U.S. government contracts. We worked in a secure facility, so the main vendor couldn't access anything. We were one of only a few clients where the vendor didn't have full control over the databases and server. So for everyone else, adminstration was 'automatic'. They had a program in their app that controlled the backups and other maintenance work. When an update needed done, it got pushed automatically to the database. Except for us. I did all the admin work and they had to send me any new code, then I tested it and applied it if it passed testing. At first they griped about this, until I reported some issues that they didn't catch. At first they ignored me until other clients where it was automatically pushed and installed began complaining. Then it became an 'unwritten' policy to send me the updates/changes before pushing them out to other clients. I would do my testing and provide them feedback. Once everything looked good, then they pushed it to their other clients. It was nice for them because they got real-world testing before pushing it out automatically. It was nice for me as I knew the code I finally installed in production actually worked and I got the 'pat on the back feeling' that I was able to help the vendor and keep other companies from having issues with the upgrades.

-SQLBill