VSAM Experts in Germany
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Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used VSAM
Sven Hummel
Last position:
Process Architect (Symbio, Signavio) at IT service provider for an international premium automaker
- Analyzing, aligning and modeling business processes (BPMN 2.0) for the 'The New Retail' program in the areas of invoicing, tax, customs and accounting
- Tracking user stories and their impact on processes
- Point of contact for preparing the tool migration from Symbio to Signavio for the mentioned areas
- Power user after the introduction of Signavio, point of contact and coach for other process modelers
Holger Braun
Last position:
Business Analyst at BLS
- The AVANZA project provides the deployment and procurement of a modern, reliable system for efficient access and sales and supports smooth operations at the Lötschberg & Simplon car shuttle.
- Operations are sustainably secured and the further development of the car shuttle business model is supported.
- Developed a study with an evaluation of possible solution options.
- Supported the decision on options, evaluated the RFI, prepared procurement, concept created based on the chosen option.
Ulm Paunel
Last position:
DataStage ETL Expert at ING Bank
- Datastage 11.7, dbt, Oracle 19, Python 3.12 / PySpark 3.5, Azure GitHub, Azure DevOps, Automic
- Development of migration jobs to transfer data from the collection DWH to the new Risk Mart, as well as development of ETL pipelines to migrate historical data from the old Mart to the new Risk Mart.
- Storage of the silver layer on Hadoop and the gold layer in Oracle.
- Translation of DataStage jobs into dbt to publish reporting data in Google Cloud to a PostgreSQL database.
- Creation and optimization of complex SQL queries for data extraction from a data vault, taking into account historical data in the point-in-time tables.
- Creation of Oracle table definitions (DDL) and adjustment of existing stored procedures.
- Versioning changes in GitHub and deployment via the CI/CD portal.
- Refactoring long-running DataStage jobs into Python using PySpark to reduce server load.
- Migration of SAS scripts to PL/SQL, including new development of distribution functions that have no direct equivalent in Oracle.
- Development of Automic jobs to run DataStage pipelines and Python scripts (PySpark jobs) that control the population of the SME and institutional risk tables in the Risk Mart and perform business calculations.
- Participation in the agile process, including creating user stories, estimations, and planning in Azure DevOps.
- Handling Azure DevOps tickets and close collaboration with testers and business teams for error analysis and resolution.
Michael Fuhrmann
Last position:
DACHSER SE
- Support and consulting in the authorization environment and license optimization
Jürgen Schoemaker
Last position:
IT Consultant / Analyst / Developer / Tester / Support at Automotive Manufacturer
- Analysis, software development/customization, and testing of various transaction and batch objects
- Conducting functional integration and regression tests on TEST and QA platforms under z/OS for later production implementation
- Hardware / Software / Tools: IBM MVS, z/OS, JES2/3, TSO-ISPF, JCL, DB2, SQL, SQL/PL, QMF, QMF for Workstations, SPUFI, FileAid, IMS-DB/DC, MFS, XPEDITER, COBOL, REXX, Windows 10, MS Office 365, MS Teams, batch job management via OPC, BETA92, RVS, BVB, ABL, DIALOGplus, PROBA, PRODPR (VW internal systems), JIRA, CONFLUENCE
Peter Ruppert
Last position:
System support / further development at Allianz
- Software management
- Release management, automated release deployment
- Handover of PL1 modules to Linux for MF-Pl1 compiler
- Maintenance of XINFO, Lexicon, DB design, migration
Abdullah Abdullah
Last position:
Technical Program Manager - IT & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Maxon Computer GmbH (a Nemetschek Company)
Led cross-functional compliance and IT programs spanning infrastructure, security, legal, and executive stakeholders, ensuring audit readiness and regulatory alignment.
Acted as single point of ownership for IT governance and CSR programs, defining scope, milestones, risks, and success metrics.
Partnered directly with VP of IT as a governance and control counterpart, supporting security incidents, compliance posture (ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2), and executive reporting.
Supported organizational readiness for emerging EU regulations, including the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and EU AI Act, by analyzing regulatory requirements, identifying governance and compliance impacts, and aligning internal policies and control processes.
Designed and scaled data collection and reporting processes for CSR and regulatory reporting across group and subsidiary level.
Drove process improvements and standardization, increasing transparency, predictability, and audit readiness.
Technologies and tools: Office 365 Power BI, MS SharePoint, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Teams, Zendesk, Confluence, JIRA, Vanta.
Axel Telthörster
Last position:
Migration of Host Programs to Decentralized Processing (Cobol to Java) at Freelancer
- Analysis of calculations in the legacy system (Cobol), reconciliation with specification and checking differences in the new system
- Managing change requests with Jira
- Basis for compare reconciliation: XML formats for further processing in Dopix (business: VS certificate, customer info, contribution statements)
- Automated XML comparisons via TWS jobs in various test systems
- Reviewing and documenting related utility programs and interface calls
- Reviewing legacy programs in terms of content, technology, and business logic
- Creating and extending JCLs for regression tests host <> decentralized
- Analyzing error cases and comparing with specifications for correctness
- Creating Jira tickets as requests or bug fixes for the Java programs
Technical environment:
- COBOL
- TSO/ISPF
- DB2/SQL (Spufi, QE2)
- IMS-DB/DC application development
- JCL, TWS (Tivoli), EJM Beta48 (AIX)
- Changeman (Extended Release Option)
- Citrix environment
- MS Office
- Ticket management with Jira
- Agile development
Gerhard Haunstetter
Last position:
Application Developer at Lila Logistik
- Supported the application
- Developed applications in COBOL
- Extended customer and in-house requirements
- Assisted in ensuring smooth operation
- Methods/tools: COBOL, HP3000, MPE/XL operating system, IMAGE database, Whisper (development interface)
Smita Aima
Last position:
Scrum Master at Synechron
- Coached, mentored and trained teams to bring in agile mindset.
- Organized and facilitated daily scrum, sprint reviews, retrospectives, sprint and release planning.
- Collaborated closely with product owner on backlog grooming to keep product backlog relevant and prioritized.
- Effectively managed and tracked team’s progress.
- Worked with scrum masters across sites to prepare and facilitate potentially shippable increment planning sessions.
- Expertly promoted continuous improvement and helped teams increase productivity and foster innovation.
- Identified and mitigated risks and impediments on continuous basis.
- Used effective facilitation techniques for decision making and conflict resolution.
- Worked with remote/distributed teams with varying level of agile maturity.
Roman Pintsuk
Last position:
IT manager, specialist and consultant; robotics specialist; business analyst; actuary at Righley Cooper GmbH
- IT manager, specialist and consultant
- Robotics specialist
- Business analyst
- Actuary
Thomas Minski
Last position:
Application Developer at Freelance
- Development of a new payment method
- Adaptation of SB programs for FRAUD provisioning
- Creation of programs for fraud processing
- Defect fixing and further development of SB programs
- Analysis and development as part of FRAUD for SB applications
- Requirement analysis
- Program development
- Quality assurance of the developed programs
- Testing of the developed programs
- Development of new batch applications
- Banks
- Assembler, Cobol2, DB2, File-AID, IBM mainframe, IBM ISPF, JCL, JES2, REXX, SQL, TSO, Xpediter, z/OS, IMS-DB, IMS-DC
Ensar Yilmaz
Last position:
Service Manager Microsoft Cloud Services (ITIL) at Industry (technology group)
- Took on the role of Service Manager for Microsoft 365 and Azure services
- Coordinated service providers in collaboration and security (Exchange Online, Teams, Azure AD)
- Monitored and optimized SLA-compliant operational processes (Incident, Change, Problem)
- Worked closely with internal IT management and integrated ITIL processes into Azure DevOps
- Microsoft Azure, Exchange Online, Teams, Azure AD, ITIL v4, Azure DevOps, Power BI, ServiceNow
Jörg Schmidt
Last position:
Software Developer at Commerzbank
- Created interface programs between mainframe and distributed online screens
- Modified and created batch programs for daily data processing
- Provided advice on program setup, database structures, and programming tools
- Performed error analysis for the overall project
- System: OS/390, ISPF, TSO, IMS DB, IMS Connect, COBOL, DB2, SQL, SPUFI, IBM debug tool, Confluence, Jira, Eclipse, Rational Developer for Z Systems (RDZ)
Wolfgang Haupt
Last position:
Developer at Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung
- Enhancing and maintaining systems in the policy environment
- Enhancing and maintaining systems in the claims environment
- Enhancing and maintaining systems in the health insurance environment
- Technologies: COBOL, VSE, JCL, CA Sort
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using VSAM
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
34 years
Position duration
2.4 years
Positions per freelancer
19
Top business areas
Information Technology, Quality Assurance, Project Management
Top industries
Banking and Finance, Insurance, Information Technology
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Project Management, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
50%
Master's degree or higher
38%
Certifications per freelancer
3
Most common languages
German, English, French
Speak two or more languages
88%
Based on our profile pool as of 30 Aug 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates of experts in Germany using VSAM
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 30 Aug 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the technology
VSAM in practice
VSAM, or Virtual Storage Access Method, is IBM mainframe file access on z/OS. Companies use it for records that must stay fast, structured, and dependable in core transaction systems.
Common workload types
- Key-sequenced data sets for direct record lookup
- Entry-sequenced files for append-heavy processing
- Relative record files for fixed-position access
- Batch input, online inquiry, and operational stores
Ecosystem and tools
Strong specialists know VSAM as part of the wider IBM stack: z/OS, JCL, COBOL, CICS, REXX, and TSO/ISPF. They work with clusters, alternate indexes, control intervals, and catalog entries, and they understand how file design affects jobs, screens, and recovery.
When companies bring help
- Slow file access or unstable batch runs
- Data set design for a new mainframe application
- VSAM to DB2 or flat-file interface work
- Recovery, reorganization, and production support
In Germany, this expertise often sits close to banking, insurance, logistics, and public-sector systems. Remote work is common, but on-site time can help when teams need access to legacy environments or local change windows.
What strong specialists do
Good VSAM professionals read existing layouts, spot bad key design, and keep access patterns simple. They also understand how IDCAMS, backups, and reorganization routines fit into daily operations.
What to look for
Look for people who can explain why a file behaves the way it does, not just how to open it. They should be comfortable with incident analysis, controlled changes, and clean handovers for long-lived mainframe systems.
Frequently asked questions
Before you brief your next project: the most common questions about VSAM.
VSAM is used to store and retrieve records on IBM mainframes, especially where predictable access and stable file structures matter. It is common in transaction-heavy applications, batch processing, and legacy business systems on z/OS.
VSAM sits between simple sequential files and a relational database. Compared with DB2, it is more file-oriented and often used where existing application design depends on keyed or record-based access. Compared with plain sequential files, it gives more control over lookup and update patterns.
A strong VSAM specialist usually knows JCL, IDCAMS, COBOL, CICS, and the basics of z/OS storage and dataset management. For many projects, experience with job scheduling, file recovery, and mainframe operations is just as important as the file definitions themselves.
Companies usually bring in VSAM experts when a file design needs correction, a batch job is failing, or a legacy application must be changed without breaking production. Outside help is also useful when internal teams know the business logic but need deeper mainframe file expertise.
VSAM is still relevant wherever existing mainframe applications remain critical. New work often focuses on extensions, interfaces, migration support, or performance tuning around established datasets rather than greenfield design.
Ask which VSAM access methods they have worked with, how they handle IDCAMS and recovery tasks, and whether they have supported batch, CICS, or both. It also helps to ask how they document changes so your operations team can maintain the system later.
Yes, VSAM work is often done remotely if secure access to the mainframe environment is available. In Germany, some teams still prefer on-site or hybrid collaboration for production support, sensitive systems, or close coordination with long-standing internal teams.
A good VSAM expert explains file behavior clearly, identifies root causes quickly, and proposes changes that fit the existing system rather than forcing a rewrite. Look for practical experience with live datasets, not just knowledge of the acronym or the IBM documentation.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects is 98 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 784 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects, 50% hold at least a Bachelor's degree and 38% hold at least a Master's degree.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects have 34 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.4 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects are German (100%), English (88%), and French (31%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects are Banking and Finance (75%), Insurance (75%), and Information Technology (75%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used VSAM in their recent projects are Information Technology (100%), Quality Assurance (88%), and Project Management (69%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used VSAM
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg Request a free demo
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
