I have a Java SOAP data service which sits on top of a Sybase database which, for reasons out of my control, has unreliable performance. The database is part of a vendor package which has been modified by an internal team and most of the issues are caused by slow response times at certain times of the day.
The SOAP service provides data to a calculation grid and when I request data, I need the response time to be both fast and consistent. The service provides basic CRUD functionality, but the ratio of reads to writes is approximately 100:1.
What is the best strategy to isolate myself from the database's unreliable performance and ensure that the SOAP service is fast and reliable?