130×
Core banking acceleration
Rewrote legacy SQL at a top-10 U.S. insurer (USAA), cutting back-office loan processing from 48 hours to 22 minutes.
IBM Gold Consultant · Business Partner · Champion
DBA TopGun
Enterprise Db2 modernization without rip-and-replace.
Zero-downtime migrations, mission-critical HA/DR, and governed AI for Fortune 100 and federal systems of record.
Selected outcomes
Proof over promises.
Engagements that moved runtime, risk, and architecture — not slideware.
50+ TB
Production NoSQL at scale
Operated hundreds of production databases across large sharded clusters, plus 10+ TB federal healthcare estates.
0 downtime
Cross-platform cutovers
Migrated core Db2 estates from Linux on Z to x86 and Google Cloud using IIDR CDC, HADR, and high-throughput loads.
35+ yrs
Systems of record depth
From COBOL/CICS and Db2 z/OS to watsonx, Claude, MCP servers, and production RAG — same operator, full stack.
Services
Where DBA TopGun engages.
Principal consulting for organizations that cannot afford guesswork on their systems of record.
01
Db2 architecture & performance
Enterprise modeling, SQL/DBMS tuning, partitioning/MDC, EXPLAIN-driven remediation, and capacity planning for LUW and z/OS.
02
Zero-downtime migration
Linux on Z → RHEL/x86/GCP, SQL Server → Db2 LUW, Oracle/MAXIMO → OpenShift on AWS using IIDR/CDC, QREP, and HADR patterns.
03
High availability & DR
Multi-standby HADR, Q/SQL Replication, InfoSphere CDC, cloning, and snapshot strategies for failure-tolerant estates.
04
Automation & DevOps
Python/Bash DBA automation, IaC, Docker and OpenShift packaging, and operational tooling that removes toil.
05
AI governance at the data plane
watsonx and Claude-backed control planes, MCP servers, RAG pipelines, and fail-closed policy enforcement on systems of record.
06
Emergency triage & advisory
Principal-level incident response, architecture reviews, and C-suite guidance when the database is on the critical path.
Featured capability
DataSentinel
A neuro-symbolic governance framework at the mainframe–LLM intersection — IBM watsonx and Anthropic Claude advising, deterministic rules deciding.
Built for enterprises that need AI velocity without surrendering auditability on Db2 systems of record. DataSentinel combines agent orchestration, policy enforcement, and complete audit trails so probabilistic models stay inside operational guardrails.
Six MCP servers and production RAG pipelines support real governance workflows — not demos that evaporate at the firewall.
Experience
Built in the rooms where downtime costs millions.
Robert D. Proffitt — IBM Gold Consultant for Data & AI, IBM Champion, and principal of DBA TopGun.
2020 – Present
Principal Consultant
DBA TopGun, LLC · IBM Business Partner
- Enterprise Db2 consulting, data integration architecture, and emergency performance triage.
- Zero-downtime SQL Server → Db2 LUW migrations and IIDR/CDC pipelines across on-prem, AWS, GCP, and OpenShift.
- HADR, cloning, snapshot DR, ERwin/IDA modeling, and Python/Bash automation for high-stakes estates.
2016 – 2020
Director — Database Technology & Data Integration
SinfoniaRX
- Directed Db2 LUW across Linux on Z, x86, and Google Cloud (RHEL).
- Led Linux on Z → x86/GCP migrations with IIDR CDC v11.3.3, HADR, and Informatica ingestion.
- Guardium-supported compliance reporting; DBI monitoring; GitHub-managed DDL; Db2 Docker images for developers.
1990s – 2016
Earlier leadership & specialist roles
VA · ObjectRocket · Consert · USAA · IBM · U.S. Army
- USAA: 48 hours → 22 minutes loan processing; Db2 Federation eliminating nightly ETL; emergency military loan SP.
- VA & ObjectRocket: 10–50+ TB MongoDB/CouchDB/Cassandra cluster operations.
- IBM COBOL/CICS/Db2 project leadership; U.S. Army Enlisted Systems Division programmer/NCO.
Select client engagements
3MUSAAUS BankBNYHighmark BCBSPrime TherapeuticsFidelity Information ServicesDept. of Veterans AffairsIBMAccentureErnst & YoungDeutsche TelekomUlineSinfoniaRX
Credentials
IBM-recognized. Operator-proven.
Partnership status and certifications that match the work on the floor — not badges collected for a slide.
IBM Gold Consultant — Data & AI
Five-year continuity, 2020–2024
IBM Champion
2021 recognition
IBM Certified Db2 v12.1 DBA — Professional
2026
watsonx Orchestrate Technical Sales Intermediate
Current through 2027
IBM Certification Exam Developer
2026
watsonx.ai RAG & LangChain
2025
Full credential history: credly.com/users/robert-proffitt
Contact
Tell us what is on fire — or what should not be.
Advisory, retained consulting, and fractional architecture leadership for Db2 estates and AI governance programs.