I help European companies escape Oracle licensing costs with safe, well-engineered migrations to PostgreSQL — delivered fully remotely.
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About Me
I'm Fernando Chebair, a Senior Database Consultant with 20+ years of hands-on experience managing mission-critical Oracle and PostgreSQL environments across banking, healthcare, pharma, and telecoms.
I've worked on some of Europe's largest Oracle estates — including a 14,000-database Exadata environment at BNP Paribas and production RAC/Data Guard systems at Banco Sabadell — and I've held Oracle Certified Professional status across five versions, from 8i through 19c.
I'm also PostgreSQL v16 certified, which means I'm not just an Oracle DBA learning Postgres on your project. I know both sides deeply.
Based in Barcelona. Working remotely across the EU.
Services
1. Oracle → PostgreSQL Migration
My primary specialisation. You're facing an Oracle license renewal and the numbers don't add up anymore. PostgreSQL is production-grade, free, and increasingly the default choice for companies that want to move fast without vendor lock-in.
I handle the full migration lifecycle:
Assessment
- Inventory of schemas, stored procedures, custom objects, and application dependencies
- Realistic effort and risk estimates
Schema & Code Conversion
- Data type mapping
- PL/SQL → PL/pgSQL conversion
- Sequences, partitioning, views, triggers
Data Migration
- Full data load and validation
- Zero-downtime cutover strategies using logical replication or AWS DMS when required
Post-Migration Tuning
- Query optimisation
- Index review
- Autovacuum configuration
- Performance baseline comparison
Typical engagement: 20–90 days depending on database complexity.
2. Oracle DBA Services
Production support, patching, upgrades, and performance tuning for Oracle RAC, Data Guard, and Exadata environments.
Services include:
- Lifecycle management (installation, upgrades, patching campaigns)
- High-availability architecture design and implementation
- Level-3 incident support and root cause analysis
- Exadata administration and virtualisation
- Capacity planning and performance optimisation
3. PostgreSQL DBA Services
Production PostgreSQL support for teams that need senior expertise without a full-time hire.
Services include:
- HA setup (Patroni, replication, failover)
- Performance tuning (EXPLAIN ANALYZE, index design, autovacuum, connection pooling)
- Backup and disaster recovery strategy
- Monitoring setup (pg_stat_statements, pgBadger, alerting)
- Monthly retainer support available
4. Database Health Check & Audit
A structured review of your Oracle or PostgreSQL environment with a written report of findings, risks, and recommendations.
Delivered in 2–5 days.
Ideal if you want an independent expert opinion before a major upgrade, migration, or infrastructure change.
5. Disaster Recovery Design & Testing
Design, implementation, and testing of database disaster recovery strategies, whether you're running:
- Oracle Data Guard
- PostgreSQL streaming replication
- Hybrid cloud architectures
How I Work
- Remote-first — working with clients across the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France entirely remotely
- Senior hands-on — you work directly with me, not a junior billed under my name
- No lock-in — project-based or monthly retainer with clear deliverables and written SOW
- Fast to start — typically available within 1–2 weeks
Certifications
- Oracle Certified Professional — 8i, 9i, 10g, 11g, 19c
- Oracle RAC & Performance Tuning Certified Expert
- PostgreSQL v16 Certified
- Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
- ESADE MBA
Pricing
All migration projects are quoted as fixed fees with a written Statement of Work (SOW) — no surprise day-rate billing.
| Package | Scope | Max Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration Assessment | Full inventory, risk register, and fixed-price project quote | 3 days | €1,500 |
| Small Migration | Up to 5 schemas, minimal PL/SQL, full validation and cutover | 16 days | From €5,000 |
| Medium Migration | 5–20 schemas, moderate PL/SQL, HA requirements | 50 days | From €15,000 |
| Large / Complex Migration | 20+ schemas, heavy PL/SQL, zero-downtime cutover | Custom | Custom quote |
| Health Check & Audit | Written report: findings, risks, recommendations | 5 days | From €2,000 |
| Monthly DBA Retainer | Ongoing Oracle or PostgreSQL production support | 5 days/month | From €2,500/month |
The Migration Assessment is always the first step.
If you proceed with the migration project, the €1,500 fee is deducted from the project price.
[Get a Custom Quote]
Let's Talk About Your Migration
The first step is a free 30-minute call to understand your environment and confirm whether I'm the right fit.
No sales pitch — just a technical conversation.
Please be ready to share:
- Your Oracle version
- Rough number of databases or schemas in scope
- Timeline and any hard deadlines (for example, license renewal dates)
- Whether you've started any migration work already
📧 Email: fernando @ rootfan.com
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