Ashar Abbas

As Principal Database Engineer, I lead the design and delivery of an enterprise-scale data platform on Azure, leveraging SQL Server on VM, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure SQL DB, Azure PostgreSQL and Databricks to migrate, modernize, and optimize our database estate. I set the strategic vision for database governance, performance, and security, and drive cross-functional collaboration to align data initiatives with business objectives. Cloud Migration & Modernization: Architected and executed the transition of mission-critical databases from on-premises VMs to Azure SQL Managed Instance, ensuring zero data loss and sub-minute cut-over windows. Strategic Leadership: Established a robust database governance framework—policies, standards, and best practices—that scales across global teams and drives continuous improvement. Automation & Reliability: Built self-healing automation pipelines for backups, monitoring, and patch management, reducing manual interventions by 80% and proactively preventing outages. Emerging Tech Evaluation: Assessed and piloted next-generation data platforms (NewSQL, distributed database systems), providing ROI analyses and recommendations to executive leadership. Cross-Team Influence: Collaborate with architects, DevOps, and analytics teams to shape the organization’s data strategy, championing best-in-class security, performance tuning, and cost-efficient resource allocation. Cost Optimization: Implemented tagging, reserved capacity, and dynamic scaling practices in Azure, cutting DB hosting expenses by 30% while maintaining high throughput and availability. Key Achievements: Led migration of mission-critical SQL Server estates to Azure SQL Managed Instance with sub-minute cutovers and zero data loss, resulting in a 50% cost reduction while simultaneously improving performance by 40%.

 Technical Leadership: Serve as a database subject matter expert and technical leader, guiding and influencing decision-making across multiple domains. Ensure that application and service development on the AWS platform aligns with long-term business strategies and goals.  Cloud Database Migration Strategy: Define and execute database migration strategies, including cutover and downtime planning, for large-scale cloud-native projects. Lead the migration of over 100 databases across 20 servers from commercial systems like Oracle and SQL Server to cloud-based platforms such as PostgreSQL and DynamoDB.  Database Monitoring & Administration: Led the 24x7 monitoring, administration, and troubleshooting of Oracle and SQL Server databases supporting a high-availability train ticketing platform, ensuring optimal database performance and uptime.  Performance Optimization & Availability Management: Implemented advanced monitoring tools and techniques to proactively identify databases performance, bottlenecks, resource contention, and availability issues. Performed real-time tuning of Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, DynamoDB databases to maintain smooth operation during peak traffic.  Incident Management & Troubleshooting: Acted as the primary escalation point for critical incidents impacting database performance or availability. Conducted root cause analysis (RCA) for incidents and implemented preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.  Continuous Improvement & Best Practices: Drove continuous improvement initiatives for database administration and performance monitoring, staying current with industry best practices and emerging technologies to improve the overall database architecture and performance  Cost Optimization & Analysis: Conducted regular cost analysis of database environments, comparing the cost efficiency. Implemented cost optimization strategies by identifying opportunities for resource consolidation, storage savings, and license optimization

 Database Migration Expertise: Led multiple database migration projects from Oracle and SQL Server to PostgreSQL, utilizing AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) for data migration, ensuring seamless and low-downtime transitions.  Database Optimization: Lead efforts to optimize database platforms from performance, cost-efficiency, security, operations, and resilience standpoints, ensuring they align with both technical and business requirements.  Customer Engagement & Leadership: Drive high-level discussions with customer’s senior leadership and technical teams to understand and address challenges, focusing on optimizing IT infrastructure and platforms. Recommend solutions that align with strategic business goals.  AWS Advocacy & Consultation: Act as a bridge between AWS Platform Services, Engineering, and Architecture teams, helping ensure the success of consulting engagements and migrations for AWS customers.  Solution Design & Recommendation: Collaborate closely with customer's technical teams to understand requirements and design optimal database solutions, recommending best-fit architectures that drive the customer’s success.  High-Volume, Mission-Critical Environments: Architect solutions for complex, high-volume transactional (OLTP/OLAP) environments, batch processing, and petabyte-scale data warehouses, driving AWS service adoption across databases like RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, and Redshift.  Performance Analysis & Recommendations: Analyse distributed production deployments, offering expert insights and actionable recommendations to optimize the performance, scalability, and reliability of complex database environments.  Enablement & Training: Serve as a thought leader, training AWS teams including Solution Architects, Professional Services Consultants, and Technical Account Managers.  Technical Thought Leadership: Share best practices and insights by contributing to blog posts, whitepapers, reference architectures.

•Database Performance Optimization: Spearheaded extensive performance tuning efforts utilizing tools like pg_stat_statements and pg_buffercache, optimizing indexing strategies and query execution plans. Achieved a 40% reduction in query execution times and overall database response times. •Database Architecture & Deployment: Designed and deployed scalable PostgreSQL databases for high-traffic transactional systems including including partitioning, sharding, read replicas, and load balancing. •High Availability Solutions: Engineered and implemented high availability (HA) architectures for mission-critical databases, employing streaming replication, automated failover systems, and comprehensive backup strategies. •Automation & Scripting: Developed and maintained automation scripts in Bash and Python for efficient database management tasks such as backup processes, system monitoring, and routine maintenance. •Database Migrations: Led complex database migrations from Oracle to PostgreSQL, overseeing schema conversion, data mapping, testing, and performance optimization to ensure a smooth and seamless transition without data loss or service disruptions. •Security & Compliance: Directed the implementation of robust database security measures, including role-based access control (RBAC), data encryption techniques, and auditing policies. •High-Availability Configuration: Administered and configured PostgreSQL databases in demanding high-availability (HA) environments, ensuring maximum uptime and failover readiness. •Advanced Data Partitioning & Sharding: Improved PostgreSQL performance by implementing efficient data management strategies, including table partitioning and sharding using tools like pg_partman and pg_shard. Deployed techniques such as range partitioning, list partitioning, and hash partitioning to handle large datasets, optimize query performance, and distribute workloads effectively.

.Lead Performance Root Cause Analysis: Acted as the primary lead for identifying and addressing performance issues in SQL Server and Oracle production databases for clients. Conducted thorough root cause analysis to resolve performance bottlenecks. .SQL Code Auditing: Audited SQL code based on optimization best practices. Provided strategic recommendations for scalability, including storage capacity planning and ensuring optimal database resource allocation. .Load Testing: Conducted load testing on Oracle databases to assess performance. Utilized AWR/ADDM and ASH report analysis to diagnose and resolve issues related to blocking, deadlocks, and resource contention. .Oracle Database Optimization: Evaluated and fine-tuned Oracle database initialization parameters, processor, memory, disk, and network resources to enhance performance and throughput. .Proactive SQL Server Health Checks: Conducted regular health checks on SQL Server databases to identify areas of potential improvement, enabling pre-emptive measures to enhance performance and stability. .Code Reviews and Architecture Analysis: Actively participated in reviews of pgpsql, PL/SQL, and T-SQL code, focusing on debugging, diagnosis, and architectural evaluation. Continuously challenged the status quo to identify enhancements for individual components and overall business solutions. .Query Optimization & Performance: Provided expert consulting on PostgreSQL query optimization and performance tuning, utilizing tools like pg_stat_statements, pg_buffercache, and EXPLAIN to resolve bottlenecks. . Designed comprehensive backup and recovery plans for clients using pg_basebackup for physical backups and pg_dump/pg_restore for logical backups, ensuring data integrity and minimizing downtime in case of failures. . Implemented logical replication using pglogical to synchronize data across multiple PostgreSQL databases, ensuring real-time availability of critical information for clients with distributed data architectures.

 Leading and managing Oracle and SQL Server database performance, monitoring, trouble shooting, Backup and recovery and security policies.  Developing adequate understanding of data modeling and analysis techniques to ensure compliance across board.  Participate as lead in upgrade / patch management, configuration, capacity planning and regular database maintenance activities of Oracle and SQL Server.  Auditing SQL Code and database design to gain performance of the whole application / DB design.  Maintain and manage database documentation and participate in preventive maintenance activity.  Interact with departmental users as supervisory level and resolve day-to-day issue.  Make sure Availability of Oracle and SQL Server Databases at 24X7 and Works as lead for end-to-end problem resolution.  Represent department in management meetings, committees and forums pertaining to technical aspect. Achievements Implementation of DR solution on SAN based for Hospital Management system. Upgrade PeopleSoft ERP to 8.53. Implemented high availability solution for all database solutions to avoid downtime during maintenance window

• SQL Queries Optimization and Handling load management for Performance Tuning and avoiding bottle necks. • Suggesting improvements in Data base design and modeling ERD. • Implementing Data Warehousing by Postgres and SQL Server 2008 and Developed ETL by using SSIS and SQL scripts. • Working on Business Intelligence and Reporting by using SQL Server 2008 Analysis and Reporting Service. • Developing Data migration and uploading Scripts. • Plan and maintain Security Policies to avoid potential security threats. • Administering, Configuring, Customization and security implementation Oracle E-Business suite R12. Achievements Implemented SQL Server 2008 Fail Over Clustering at Getz Pharma. Integration of Oracle E-Business suite R12 with Bitzer mobile application. Build a data ware house by using Postgres. Owner of Business Intelligence special interest group in Folio3

• Identifying and Analyze bad SQL queries and database levels performance bottlenecks to keep smooth database operation. • Managing backup, recovery, High availability, Patching, configuration and deployment activities. • Make sure availability of Database at 24X7. • Developing Data migration and uploading Scripts. • Write Complex stored procedures, Functions and triggers related to business requirements. • Plan and maintain Security Policies to avoid potential security threats. • Write database documentation, including data standards, procedures and definitions for the data dictionary. Achievements Automation of Data Migration from old MK4 system to New MK5. Optimize and Tune whole database scripts for Fast response at user end. Implement a Point of failure Backup and Recovery Policies to avoid any data loss. Deployed a strong Security policy

• Architecting Logical Data Models and Writing complex SQL queries with development team. • Developing Data migration and uploading utilities using different Databases utilities. • Developed ETL by using SSIS and SQL scripts. • Working on Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools of various Databases. • Implementing Replication, Failover Clustering, Backups/Restores, Performance and tuning scenarios. • Write Complex stored procedures, Functions and triggers related to business requirements. Achievements Star of Month on Implementation of HADR and Performance tuning of Database in DB2 for Dawn News Group. DTS package for online survey of General Electric. SSIS package for Rogers Mobile for online survey. Performance and Tuning of Resturant.com Data Base Stored Procedure.

• Working with the design team to define the database schemas. • Tuning SQL queries and optimize database design and stay on top of the latest information in that space. • Designing Data migration and merging scripts. • Implementing Data ware house and OLAP techniques using SQL Server Analysis Services 2005. • Writing Complex stored procedures, Functions and triggers related to business requirements. Achievements Data Base Designing and Tuning of Loan Amortization System. Developed OLAP system for Loan Amortization System. Developed Reporting system by using SQL Server Reporting Services.

Covered Oracle Administration and Configuration with development by Forms 6i.