We performed a comparison between IBM Db2 Database and SQL Server based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: IBM Db2 Database has an edge in this comparison due to the high marks it received for its performance. Reviewers are happier with the pricing of SQL Server, however.
"The solution is very stable, in both hardware and database."
"The most valuable feature of the IBM Db2 Database is the ease of use, and the ability to do query writing of any SQL statement and have an output."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is its stability. We have never had any problems and have never had to contact technical support."
"The most valuable feature is PowerPC support."
"The solution has very good data compression of up to 50%. For example, if you have 50 terabytes of data, it can be reduced to 25 terabytes."
"The most valuable feature of the IBM Db2 Database is security."
"It's very secure."
"Db2's best features are that it's self-maintaining and self-monitoring, which means I have to view and monitor the database far less often."
"The initial setup is easy, flawless."
"It is an extremely stable solution."
"We have many users, between 50 and 100 using the SQL Server product."
"SQL Server is a stable product."
"From a security perspective, we have no complaints."
"The product has very good online documentation that can be used for troubleshooting."
"We found it to be quite scalable."
"I haven't really experienced any issues that required the assistance of technical support."
"IBM Db2 Database is not ACID compliant, which would improve it. Db2 lacks Isolation, so when two people are trying to update the same field at the same time it can become stuck. Other newer databases do not have this issue, such as Microsoft SQL, Oracle DB, PostgreSQL, and SAP HANA."
"There could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities."
"The pricing could be improved, it's expensive."
"The ease of use, or ease of management, could be improved."
"Its process of building up queries could be more accessible."
"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."
"IBM Db2 Database could improve in the steps it takes for upgrades. It is not an easy process. The process of upgrading the version is lengthy and requires a lot of time. To make it more efficient, I suggest implementing some automation on the solution side. This will greatly reduce the time required for the upgrade."
"The capabilities of this solution could improve."
"It could be more stable."
"I would appreciate a dark theme for SQL Server Management Studio and ability to add databases with TDE enabled into availability groups."
"For a big amount of data, when we are speaking about IoT Segments, and Big Data projects, there are performance issues."
"There is room for improvement in performance when managing a large quality of data and a high number of active users."
"The pricing could be more affordable."
"Microsoft doesn't have active-active load balancing scenarios. It's always a failover cluster."
"In some cases it is quite difficult, like the lack of ease of the replication and other issues. They have to improve on that. They do not have features like "always on," which is complicated."
"The solution is lacking a compound index for comparing values."
IBM Db2 Database is ranked 6th in Relational Databases Tools with 67 reviews while SQL Server is ranked 1st in Relational Databases Tools with 260 reviews. IBM Db2 Database is rated 8.2, while SQL Server is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of IBM Db2 Database writes "Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SQL Server writes "Easy to use and provides good speed and data recovery". IBM Db2 Database is most compared with Oracle Database, SAP HANA, Teradata, MySQL and Oracle Database In-Memory, whereas SQL Server is most compared with MariaDB, SAP HANA, Oracle Database, LocalDB and Teradata. See our IBM Db2 Database vs. SQL Server report.
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We monitor all Relational Databases Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.