We continued with our existing mainframe Db2 solution due to its high availability and the ability to maintain an active configuration across multiple servers or LPARs.
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The BEST DATABASE FOR TODAY and TOMMOROW
What do you like best about the product?
Most available,secure and scalable database in the world. It in use in nearly all TOP 10 FORTUNE 500 Companies, Government Agencies and Universities.
IBM relentless Innovation and FOCUS to perinnially update it with latest features and trends keeps it in the NUMBER ONE database seeks by all.
IBM relentless Innovation and FOCUS to perinnially update it with latest features and trends keeps it in the NUMBER ONE database seeks by all.
What do you dislike about the product?
When using DB2 we we can get auto suggestions for the commands and SQL it could help GREATLY improve Customer Experience.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
DB2 is the solving the problem of 24X7 availability and benifiting improve customer satisfaction
Robust and most available relational database
What do you like best about the product?
It offers high scalability when compared with other databases and it's simple to use
What do you dislike about the product?
The support of the languages in it can be made better
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It can handle large amount of data and accepts SQL syntax which is easy to use
Robust and Excellent Database Ground
What do you like best about the product?
IBM DB2 is robust and truly a scaleble database which can handle large amount of data and transactions in very effecient manner. Security level of the database is perfect and up to the mark.
What do you dislike about the product?
GUI can be the one of the reason which I think IBM need to improve. Rest of the things are good.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Its a large and scalbale database which helps in running large data set and query the data in effecient manner
The best SQL platform as long as Mainframes are relevant
What do you like best about the product?
I have worked on 2 different SQL platforms previously (Microsoft and Adobe). I have been using DB2 for the past one year since I started working in the BFS domain. The best thing I like about DB2 is how seamlessly it integrates with COBOL program with just the use of a SQLCA section. Apart from the common select, update or insert another feature I really love is the cursor feature and fetch options. It helps to navigate the database and choose the exact plan number or ssn relevant to that COBOL code .
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes I came across compilation errors when I try to execute COBOL codes using the DCLGEN utility for DB2.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM DB2 is the only source of SQL in mainframe systems. So whenever I need to work with the view or the table itself I use DB2 to seamlessly connect with the COBOL application.
My experience with Db
What do you like best about the product?
High performance, scalability, flexibility, strong security.
What do you dislike about the product?
Complex setup, resource-intensive, learning curve.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
efficiently managing and processing large datasets
My short term experience with IBM DB2
What do you like best about the product?
Its ability to integrate with mainframe DB2 is seamless and the performance is too good with near zero down time.
What do you dislike about the product?
Tooling needs an improvement is what I feel.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Its speed is awesome and It offers lot of api's to effectively get the results in no time when compared with other DBMS systems.
IMB great database for the past.
What do you like best about the product?
It was my first approach to database and it feels so unsupported some regular expression at least where I use it won't work like regex_like. Also it's a cheaper solution for small company. Also easier to integrate with odbc.
What do you dislike about the product?
Unsupported feature. The version I'm running has some lack.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
This database was unuse to end-user due to its complexity, as a data engineer I start to translate those users need and provide data solutions, without having them touching the database.
IBM's DB2 for z/OS provides a powerful database management system
What do you like best about the product?
Its high availability, reliability, and scalability.
What do you dislike about the product?
The complexity of Db2 can be overwhelming.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Helping solve security initiatives with HIPAA and GDPR, along with containerized platforms using Kubernetes and Docker.
Provides high availability and maintains active configuration across multiple servers
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
There are two versions of Db2. One is Db2 for z/OS. The other is Db2 LUW—LUW stands for Linux, Unix, and Windows. From an availability perspective, it's not on the same level as the z/OS version, which I consider superior. This is why major airlines, banks, insurance companies, and retailers worldwide rely on mainframes and Db2.
What needs improvement?
IBM's support isn't as strong as it used to be, especially when it comes to providing fixes. We have to keep track of defects more closely now. When a defect is identified, IBM takes it to their lab, creates an APAR, and provides us with a fix. We receive these fixes periodically and apply them to our Db2 code in a sandbox environment first, not directly into production. We test thoroughly before rolling it out to development and eventually to production.
Recently, we've encountered some issues with Db2, requiring us to be extra cautious to avoid outages. Unfortunately, we did experience an outage in February due to a code defect. We recently received a Red Alert from IBM, a critical warning in the mainframe world indicating a potential risk of data loss if not addressed.
How are customer service and support?
We have technical support from IBM, but we have to pay for it as part of our product licensing. If you're skeptical, look up IBM PH61633. It’s an example of a Red Alert, which warns of a defect that could potentially cause data loss and provides temporary actions until a fix is available.
It feels like we’re seeing these kinds of issues more frequently, and we have to be very cautious to avoid causing any outages. About two or three weeks ago, we recently experienced problems with some Microsoft tools and a third-party security fix. When the fix was applied, many Windows servers started crashing, leading to significant issues for airlines and banks worldwide.
There was also an issue involving CrowdStrike. We seem to encounter these problems more frequently, which has forced us to heighten our vigilance. I wonder if a better system could be developed to prevent these issues.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When compared with Oracle RAC or Microsoft SQL, Db2 for z/OS offers the highest level of availability and the best SLA, especially if you have skilled technical people managing it. For banks or airlines needing 24/7/365 availability, Db2 for z/OS is the top recommendation. If your business can tolerate occasional outages, Oracle RAC or Microsoft SQL might be suitable alternatives. However, in our experience, Db2 for z/OS on the mainframe provides the most reliable high availability and active-active configuration.
How was the initial setup?
Mainframe environments require skilled, trained database engineers; many are available, particularly in the Indian subcontinent. My team has a mix of talent from around the world. While mainframe Db2 does demand a higher level of expertise, other environments might not require as much specialized skill, though some skills are still necessary.
IBM mainframe manuals are exceptionally well-documented and provide thorough explanations. In contrast, companies like Dell EMC or Microsoft sometimes fall short by not providing all the details needed. They might instruct you to run a process without explaining its potential impact, such as CPU usage or the best time to execute it.
I've worked with other suppliers and generally find that IBM's documentation for mainframes is very thorough and well-structured.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In the past, mainframes were considered expensive because software licensing was based on the full capacity of the hardware. Nowadays, licensing is based on peak usage, typically less than the hardware's full capacity—often around 75%. This change reduces costs. Additionally, IBM mainframe developers have introduced features like speciality processors that handle specific tasks, offload work from the main CPU, and reduce costs further.
For example, if you have special CPUs managing some of the workload, peak usage might drop from 75% to around 60%, making the system more cost-effective.
Mainframe hardware generally has a longer lifespan than other servers, such as HP Gen 10 or Gen 11 servers, which typically have two to three years. Mainframes are built to last much longer.
What other advice do I have?
You don't want to check in for your vacation flight and find that the airline's system is down, causing delays at the airport. That would be a nightmare. Or imagine being unable to access your money because the bank's system is down. These kinds of issues can cause significant problems and lead to a lot of internal headaches for the company providing the services.
As part of your licensing with IBM, you get access to their case system, which lets you raise incidents related to software or hardware. This system is helpful for problem determination and quickly identifying issues. You need to keep things up to date, but you also want to avoid potential problems. If you wait too long to update, you're more susceptible to security breaches, and someone could potentially hack your system.
If iOS is publishing fixes, people out there examine them to find potential exploits. The same happens with Microsoft—people review their fix lists and look for opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities. IBM doesn't publish its security fixes openly. You need special permissions to access them; they're not generally available to anyone except those with specific access to the security sites.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
A database solution for core banking with competitive pricing
What is our primary use case?
IBM Db2 is a database for our core banking. We extract data from Db2 and put it in the data warehouse.
How has it helped my organization?
The main database platform is for core banking. It covers vulnerabilities.
What is most valuable?
The structure is straightforward, consisting of the test file and the logical and physical files. You have one physical file and many logical files related to it.
Banks use it which indicates that the security and compliance features are quite good.
What needs improvement?
The data table names are very short which is not user friendly compared to the Oracle SQL server. It should have longer column and table names.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IBM Db2 Database for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable depending on the IBM hardware you're using. IBM has also operation for Unix hardware. 1,000 users are using this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Oracle is very good product compared to Db2. We have used Postgre too.
How was the initial setup?
Deployment is vert fast. It takes eight hours to complete. It depends on what path you're doing. IBM provides training.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product has a competitive pricing.
What other advice do I have?
The solution depends on the use case. It is reliable and scalable.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
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