Storage Specialist (Dell PowerMax to IBM VTS Migration)

Introduction

The Storage Specialist will lead and support the migration of enterprise mainframe storage workloads from Dell EMC PowerMax (PMAX) infrastructure to IBM Virtual Tape System (VTS) and associated IBM storage technologies. The role requires expertise in enterprise storage architecture, mainframe storage operations, replication technologies, disaster recovery, performance optimization, and migration execution with minimal business disruption.

The specialist will work closely with mainframe platform teams, infrastructure architects, operations teams, and business stakeholders to design, implement, test, and transition storage services while maintaining regulatory, security, and operational standards.

Duties & Responsibilities

Storage Migration Planning & Execution

Assess current Dell PMAX storage environments and dependencies.

Develop migration strategies, runbooks, rollback plans, and cutover approaches.

Lead storage discovery, capacity assessment, and migration readiness activities.

Coordinate migration waves, testing cycles, dress rehearsals, and production cutovers.

Ensure data integrity and reconciliation throughout migration activities.

IBM VTS Implementation

Configure and administer IBM VTS infrastructure.

Integrate IBM VTS with z/OS and enterprise backup/recovery solutions.

Manage virtual tape libraries, tape pools, retention policies, and archival processes.

Optimize virtual tape performance and resource utilization.

Mainframe Storage Administration

Support IBM zSeries storage environments.

Manage storage provisioning, allocation, and performance tuning.

Configure and maintain FICON connectivity.

Support disaster recovery and replication services.

Performance & Capacity Management

Analyze storage utilization and forecast capacity requirements.

Monitor storage KPIs and SLAs.

Identify bottlenecks and implement optimization initiatives.

Produce performance dashboards and operational reports.

Disaster Recovery & Resilience

Support storage replication and failover strategies.

Participate in DR testing and recovery exercises.

Ensure storage solutions meet RTO/RPO requirements.

Maintain business continuity documentation.

Governance & Documentation

Develop architecture diagrams and operational procedures.

Maintain configuration management records.

Support audit, compliance, and regulatory requirements.

Facilitate knowledge transfer to operations teams.

Required Technical Skills

Dell Technologies

Dell EMC PowerMax (PMAX)

Unisphere for PowerMax

SRDF/A, SRDF/S

SnapVX

Storage replication technologies

SAN administration

IBM Storage Technologies

IBM Virtual Tape System (VTS)

IBM TS7700 Series

IBM DS8000 Storage

IBM Storage Insights

IBM Copy Services

GDPS integration exposure

Mainframe Technologies

IBM z/OS

JCL

DFSMS

SMS Storage Management

HSM

RACF awareness

FICON architecture

Data Protection & Recovery

Backup and recovery technologies

Storage replication

Disaster recovery planning

Business continuity processes

Monitoring & Operations

OMEGAMON

RMF

MainView

Enterprise monitoring platforms

Desired Experience & Qualification

8+ years in enterprise storage administration.

5+ years supporting IBM mainframe environments.

Proven experience with Dell EMC PowerMax storage environments.

Proven experience with IBM TS7700/VTS platforms.

Experience executing large-scale storage migrations.

Experience with production data center cutovers and DR exercises.

Banking, financial services, or highly regulated industry experience preferred.

Desired Certifications

Dell Technologies Proven Professional Certification

IBM Certified Storage Administrator

IBM z/OS or Mainframe-related Certifications

ITIL Foundation

TOGAF (desirable)

Key Deliverables

Current-state storage assessment.

Target IBM VTS architecture.

Migration strategy and roadmap.

Migration runbooks and rollback procedures.

Capacity and performance reports.

DR validation reports.

Knowledge transfer documents.

Production go-live support and hypercare.

Success Criteria

Zero critical data loss during migration.

Minimal planned business downtime.

Successful migration of all identified workloads.

Compliance with SLAs, RPOs, and RTOs.

Stable IBM VTS operations post-migration.

Complete operational handover and documentation.

This version is suitable for a Senior Storage Specialist / Storage Migration Lead role in a banking mainframe environment transitioning from Dell PMAX infrastructure toward IBM storage and virtual tape services.