Solutions Architect at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Reliable, mature, and able to extend
Pros and Cons
  • "It's a very mature product."
  • "When I look at Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server provides me with better tools for database management."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for handling retail customer information. We use it as an integration broker. It stores all the vendor information.

How has it helped my organization?

We rely on it for our data transfers. If we need to send an invoice, for example, we'd use this product. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is very stable and reliable. It's a very mature product.

If you have specialized support, it's fine in terms of getting assistance.

The solution can scale. 

What needs improvement?

IBM gives us tools that help us 

When I look at Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server provides me with better tools for database management. IBM is missing things like data permissions and backups, et cetera. Microsoft has a very user-friendly interface that IBM lacks. The user interface from IBM is not great.

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IBM Db2 Database
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For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution on and off for the past ten years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution. It's been around for quite some time and is very mature. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's quite scalable. We haven't had any issues. We can reuse DB2 mainframes, et cetera. We haven't had issues. 

We're not increasing usage. We're pushing towards the cloud and Azure systems. 

How are customer service and support?

We are a big customer of IBM and have some sort of specialized services. We have an elevated support agreement that helps. In general, it's not the greatest. That's only at a personal level.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am familiar with the Microsoft SQL Server, which is more user-friendly and has more user-friendly features. We're also exploring moving away from this solution to more cloud-based Azure services. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup wasn't part of my job. We had a team that handled it. However, my understanding is it was straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't deal with the pricing. I can't speak to its exact cost.

What other advice do I have?

I'm not a database person. I'm a programmer. 

I'm using version nine in the company.

If a person wants to use the solution from a user perspective, I'd suggest they actually look at cloud programs, not IBM or on-premises. Cloud simplifies a lot of things. If I were starting from scratch, I'd go right to the could.

The reliability is excellent, and therefore I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. I only have issues with the user interface.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Cosmin CIobanica - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 20
A tool that offers better performance and competitive advantage when compared to its competitors
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution is its compatibility with IBM Power Systems."
  • "I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is its compatibility with IBM Power Systems.

What needs improvement?

IBM Db2 Database is not a commodity product compatible with hyperscalers. IBM Db2 Database needs to work more on compatibility with other platforms.

Considering the competitors of IBM Db2 Database, I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers. In general, I would want the tool to have a bit more openings around cloud solutions rather than only being available on-premises.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM Db2 Database for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

It doesn't really matter whether small companies or big companies use IBM Db2 Database. Whether to choose IBM Db2 Database or not depends on a customer's preferences.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If I consider the price of IBM Db2 Database, I would say there are cheaper products in the market.

Whether or not there is a requirement to pay additionally for maintenance or support apart from the standard licensing fees of the solution depends on the agreement you have with IBM.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When you look at IBM Db2 Database, you feel it is more of a vendor lock-in type of approach. IBM Db2 Database offers little performance difference or competitive advantage compared to Oracle SQL or other platforms.

The products recommended to my customers may vary and depend on certain agreements. There are a lot of products, like Oracle, Microsoft SQL, and many other cloud databases, making for a wide portfolio of products.

What other advice do I have?

IBM Db2 Database is a very standard and IBM-centric solution, so you need to be familiar with all the aspects of the product since it is not really an open product, meaning you can't run it on everything. IBM Db2 Database only runs on specific systems. I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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Buyer's Guide
IBM Db2 Database
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM Db2 Database. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
771,212 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Jørgen Espensen - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at SPS
Real User
Top 10
Secure solution but command line is outdated and could be better
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very secure."
  • "The command line part of this solution could be much better."

What is our primary use case?

I'm using this solution for a financial network. I make and prepare the databases for analysis.

I'm using version 11.5. There are 1,200 people using this solution in my organization. It's deployed on-premise.

What is most valuable?

It's very secure.

What needs improvement?

The command line part of this solution could be much better. Redshift is a lot better. It's easier to work with them. IBM Db2 is a little bit outdated.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support isn't very helpful when I've had problems.

How was the initial setup?

It's not easy to set up. It takes a long time, especially compared to other solutions.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's very expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 6 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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DA / DBA at Discount Bank
Real User
Very good in terms of robustness, scalability, availability, and performance
Pros and Cons
  • "Its robustness, scalability, availability, and performance are valuable. All these are the major attributes of a relational database for supporting a very high-volume business, and Db2 is very good in all those areas and in all those attributes."
  • "They should simplify the management of Db2 as a relational database system. There should be the simplification of management. This is probably one of the most important asks for being successful in the future."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for the core banking business. We have Db2 for z/OS 2.4 on the IBM mainframe machine. It is on-premises of one of the big banks in Israel.

What is most valuable?

Its robustness, scalability, availability, and performance are valuable. All these are the major attributes of a relational database for supporting a very high-volume business, and Db2 is very good in all those areas and in all those attributes.

What needs improvement?

They should simplify the management of Db2 as a relational database system. There should be the simplification of management. This is probably one of the most important asks for being successful in the future.

They should add AI support for performance improvements for application and system performance and tuning management. AI is a very deep and complex product. There are thousands of parameters, and it is very hard to do it manually. So, I would suggest developing an AI system to do the monitoring, tuning, and performance improvements.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this product for 40 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. There are organizations where Db2 has been working for more than a year and sometimes, for many years without going down. The operating system as well as Db2 work for a long time. There is no downtime at all.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable. There are about 250 application systems with even more different databases on the same server with data sharing.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is okay. It was better 10 years ago, but it is still okay.

How was the initial setup?

It must be done by a professional. It is not a simple task. Somebody with quite significant experience must do the initial setup. It is difficult.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate IBM Db2 Database an eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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reviewer2053638 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer2053638Technical lead at HCL Technologies
Vendor

It is a very useful relational database in banking backend system.

Md Al-Amin - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Analyst at Thakral
MSP
Top 5Leaderboard
Stable platform with effective data management capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of IBM Db2 Database is its ability to perform automatic self-management, reducing the need for manual tasks such as managing logs and folders."
  • "There could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities."

How has it helped my organization?

The value and impact of using IBM Db2 Database lie in its essential role in storing data. The benefits include enhanced performance, reliability, and effective data management compared to other databases.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of IBM Db2 Database is its ability to perform automatic self-management, reducing the need for manual tasks such as managing logs and folders.

What needs improvement?

One area where IBM Db2 Database could be improved is its Java development environment. Similar to those found in competitors like Oracle, there could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the IBM Db2 Database for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The platform is stable. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The primary concern is related to the cost implications when scaling with multiple nodes in a database. The associated costs increase when additional nodes are added, each requiring separate storage space. We have approximately four or five Db2 instances being used in the organization.

It is a scalable platform. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used MySQL and Oracle in my previous environments. We switched to IBM Db2 Database for auto-management features and reduced manual intervention.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. We have to install and register. The deployment process includes downloading the software from the vendor's website, having a customer account, copying the downloaded file to the machine, and executing the installation. It takes five to ten days to complete. We have around 50 executives working in the database administration team.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the product in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We purchase the product's yearly license. Later, we have to pay support and license renewal fees. Its pricing is comparable to other database solutions such as Oracle and MySQL. If you choose to buy IBM Power Systems, there may be opportunities to receive Db2 licenses at a lower cost or even free of charge. However, if the installation is on servers other than open Power servers, standard licensing fees apply, similar to those of other database solutions.

What other advice do I have?

The application has analytical tools to support day-to-day management and analytics needs. It is convenient to meet business needs objects.

Regarding integration with other tools and systems, Db2 can be integrated with comprehensive banking solutions involving various teams, including CVS, analytics, and importing teams.

As for recommendations for those considering Db2, it can effectively impact performance. If an organization predominantly uses Db2, individuals are more likely to choose Db2. However, there is a challenge related to training resources for Db2, which may be less readily available or focused on compared to other platforms like Oracle.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Senior Cyber Security Specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It's easy to search and extract information using queries
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to search and extract data from the warehouse using queries."
  • "The queries can be difficult for beginners because there are so many. I would like to see more use cases for flow analysis that enable us to correlate the flow with events. Adding this feature in a QI format would be good for beginners."

What is our primary use case?

We work with a few use cases suggested by the IBM Watson Library. All the data is inside the event processor, we can extract it with a query. There are multiple use cases already in the IBM marketplace.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to search and extract data from the warehouse using queries.

What needs improvement?

The queries can be difficult for beginners because there are so many. I would like to see more use cases for flow analysis that enable us to correlate the flow with events. Adding this feature in a QI format would be good for beginners.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Db2 for around two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Db2 eight out of 10 for stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate Db2 nine out of 10 for scalability. We have more than a thousand users. 

How are customer service and support?

IBM's technical support is excellent. They provide a solution in 24 to 48 hours. 

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Db2 is straightforward. Most IBM products I've used aren't complex to integrate or deploy. We deploy it on-premise and in the cloud.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate IBM Db2 two out of 10 for affordability. It's expensive but not much more than other tools. There are also cloud-based solutions like Elasticsearch. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are multiple competitors like Oracle, but Db2 is the best for our use case.

What other advice do I have?

I rate IBM Db2 nine out of 10. It's more expensive, but it's better than the competing solutions. I have to deduct a point for license costs. Everything else is excellent. We recommend Db2 to many clients, but few adopt it due to the high price tag. If a project has strict budgetary restraints, we typically don't recommend Db2. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Luigi Notarantonio - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at Cy4gate srl
Real User
Feature-rich, and performs well, but the price could be reduced
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable aspect of this solution is its stability. We have never had any problems and have never had to contact technical support."
  • "Also, the website could be more intuitive. I didn't find it easy to find documentation on the website."

What is our primary use case?

I use IBM Db2 Database for an application that we use in the marketing sector.

I was a consultant.

What is most valuable?

When we use IBM Db2 Database, we are using a simple SQL server. I didn't use all of the features. It's mainly because when I worked, they used to set up Db2 for DB.

The most valuable aspect of this solution is its stability. We have never had any problems and have never had to contact technical support.

What needs improvement?

The scalability could be improved, but the problem was that it was something in the legacy of the application where I work.

The problem was not the DB itself, but there were certain limits regarding the application, and the DB was the final component, where we worked. We weren't too concerned with the DB.

It's expensive, but it's not for every client. 

Also, the website could be more intuitive. I didn't find it easy to find documentation on the website.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with IBM Db2 Database for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

IBM Db2 Database was stable, we didn't have any issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

IBM Db2 Database is not scalable.

We have approximately 8, 000 clients.

How are customer service and support?

We didn't have any issues with IBM Db2 Database. It was stable for us. We did not have the need to contact technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have some experience with Terraform, from HashiCorp. 

It's a tool for infrastructure, for building automation similar to Jenkins, or Bamboo.

I worked with Bamboo a year ago.

I have worked with databases such as MySQL, IBM Db2, Oracle DB, and some NoSQL databases like MongoDB. We use the threat procedures when we used Oracle DB.

How was the initial setup?

When I worked within Db2, I didn't set up the Db2. I just used it. I didn't do any tuning or anything like that. I only performed some database management.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Clients are required to purchase a license.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate IBM Db2 Database a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Georges BOMBOH - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Pharos Consulting
Reseller
Has great performance, security, and availability
Pros and Cons
  • "It's the best solution in terms of security, performance, and availability because the system is available 24/7."
  • "The problem with this environment is that any software that you install is very costly because there are no free tools for this environment."

What is our primary use case?

It is installed on the mainframe that we use for our applications.

What is most valuable?

It's the best solution in terms of security, performance, and availability because the system is available 24/7.

What needs improvement?

The problem with this environment is that any software that you install is very costly because there are no free tools for this environment.

The environment itself comes at a very high cost because the mainframe machine is very costly, and the licensing cost is very high as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using IBM Db2 Database for the past 22 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable, and the performance is very good.

How are customer service and support?

We use IBM technical support for the big bugs related to the operating system and the database. We haven't faced any problems with the database. Sometimes, with the operating system we need some fixes, and technical support has sent us those. On the application side, our team develops the application and solves any problems related to it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we used COBOL with a database sold by Computer Associates. We didn't have lot of choices for mainframes at the time. The best database that can run on the mainframe is the IBM Db2 Database, and we have stayed with Db2 from 2000 to the present.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was quite simple because we've been working in this area for more than 40 years.

It took about a year and a half to develop and deploy the whole application.

What about the implementation team?

We developed the application, and we deployed it using a solution strategy. We have an IBM partner who gave us all the software that we needed, and we implemented it ourselves.

We had three system engineers, two people for the database, and two people for the application.

What was our ROI?

Our ROI is big because we earned about 100 billion in our currency.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's very expensive for West African countries like ours.

We are currently in discussions with IBM concerning the reduction of licensing costs. We have a license based on the capacity of the machine and are looking into a license based on usage.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There weren't a lot of choices for mainframes at the time.

What other advice do I have?

If you're going to use it for the first time, you would need lot of training and some technical support. You would need support during development as well.

I would rate this solution at nine on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: integrator
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Download our free IBM Db2 Database Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM Db2 Database Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.