Rakesh Karkera
Mangalore,KA
Summary
Senior IT Professional with 14 years of experience, including 7 years specializing in VMware Administration across enterprise environments. Proven success in driving virtualization strategy, overseeing ESXi and vCenter deployments, upgrades, and migrations, and optimizing infrastructure performance and scalability. Experienced in leading and mentoring a team of 11 IT professionals, fostering collaboration and operational excellence. Recently expanded focus to data analytics using Power BI and Oracle APEX to deliver insights that inform technology and business strategy.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
3
3
Certification
Work History
Virtualization Engineer II
Oracle Cerner Health Services India Private Limited
11.2018 - Current
- Managed a global virtualization infrastructure consisting of over 10,000+ ESXi hosts, 30+ vCenters, and 70,000+ virtual machines distributed across geographically dispersed data centers.
- Acted as the primary escalation point for virtualization incidents during Bangalore business hours, ensuring swift resolution and minimal downtime to maintain operational efficiency.
- Oversaw the full lifecycle management of VMware infrastructure, including deployment, configuration, patching, upgrades, and advanced troubleshooting for ESXi hosts and vCenter Server Appliances.
- Led ESXi version upgrades and firmware updates on HPE Gen9, Gen10, and Synergy servers to ensure compliance with organizational standards and uninterrupted service delivery.
- Administered VMware vSAN environments designed to support high-availability workloads while collaborating with storage teams for provisioning and performance tuning across HPE 3PAR, Nimble, NetApp (Fibre Channel), and vSAN-based infrastructures.
- Designed Power BI dashboards to visualize key metrics such as utilization rates and SLA tracking while currently leading the development of an integrated dashboard application for tracking Incidents, Change Requests (CRQs), SLA compliance, and cross-functional accountability.
ITO Service Delivery Consultant
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE
11.2014 - 11.2018
- Oversaw the management of Windows Server environments, including Lotus Notes account administration, access permissions, and batch monitoring support.
- Monitored IT infrastructure using tools such as VCC, Netcool, and SCOM to ensure optimal system uptime and performance.
- Directed a global operations team of 14 members, implementing process automation measures that reduced manual ticket volume by approximately 800 tickets per month.
- Administered Active Directory provisioning, including Group Policy Object (GPO) management and shared folder access control.
- Supported incident and request management processes through HPSM (HP Service Manager) and Torque workflow systems to improve operational efficiency.
- Streamlined procedures for IT service delivery by integrating automation tools and ensuring adherence to industry best practices.
Customer Relationship Executive
Tata Teleservices Ltd
11.2012 - 11.2014
- Oversaw end-to-end service delivery processes, from project conceptualization to execution, establishing review, monitoring, and reporting procedures to maintain transparent client communication.
- Ensured adherence to SLAs and operational standards by coordinating client instructions with internal teams, achieving consistent delivery quality and minimal turnaround times.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention through timely issue resolution, proactive complaint tracking, and effective grievance handling strategies.
- Supervised service delivery across PAN India by organizing service camps to address client concerns onsite.
- Conducted team training sessions and monitored performance to uphold operational excellence while fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment.
- Promoted an efficient workplace culture by motivating teams and aligning activities with organizational goals.
Education
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics And Communications Engineering
Mangalore Institute of Technology And Engineering
Mangalore, India06-2011
Skills
- VMware Infrastructure Management: vSphere, vCenter, vSAN, vMware Aria Operations (vROps)
- ESXi Host Deployment & Upgrades
- Storage Management: HP, EMC, NetApp
- SLA/OLA Management
- Client Relationship Management
- Vendor & Resource Management
- Systems Optimization: Capacity Planning, Infrastructure Health Checks
- Incident & Change Management: ITIL Framework
- Data Analytics: Power BI (Dashboards, Audit Reports), Oracle APEX Applications
- Tools: ServiceNow, Remedy, OneView, iLO
Accomplishments
- IES Spot Award - Recognized for playing a pivotal role in managing KC, LS, and Malvern operations
- "Night on the Town" Award - Honored for exceptional client engagement and execution of a unique capacity change request. The work demonstrated outstanding craftsmanship, technical.
- HP Employee of the Month - For alert reduction and monitoring enhancements
- HP Spot Award - For leadership in documentation and training.
- Automation Lead - Recognized role in driving team-wide automation
- SPOC for Corporate Events - Led planning of employee engagement activities
- Short Film on Social Welfare - Creative contribution to CSR initiatives significantly improving on-call rotation efficiency across KC, Bangalore (12/7), and Malvern (24/7) support models expertise, and operational precision, making it a highly visible and successful event across multiple organizational levels
- Audit Champion - Actively contributed to Compute team initiatives and ensured strict compliance with change management processes as part of audit readiness and governance efforts
- Client Recognitions - Earned multiple acknowledgments for SLA-driven project delivery
Certification
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 AI Certified Foundations Associate
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 Foundations Associate
- ITIL v3 Foundation Certified
Timeline
Virtualization Engineer II
Oracle Cerner Health Services India Private Limited
11.2018 - Current
ITO Service Delivery Consultant
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE
11.2014 - 11.2018
Customer Relationship Executive
Tata Teleservices Ltd
11.2012 - 11.2014
Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics And Communications Engineering
Mangalore Institute of Technology And Engineering