In the 90s, there was a big problem with the IBM mainframe environment and there was a big push to move the middleware off the mainframe and put it on cheaper distributed hardware. What happened then was the workload was coming in over the network. This was what we called dynamic SQL coming into Db2 - which was a bit more resource-intensive to what it was with traditional legacy style workloads that were static SQL coming into the Db2 environment, that we could see the CPU on the mainframe.

In the old days, in the 90s and before that, we were charged quite expensive amounts for licensing the software on the full capacity of the mainframe they're running on.

Now, what they introduced mid-nineties/late-nineties was these specialized processes like a coupling facility. There was a Z integrated information process called a zip. This supported workloads coming in off the network from web servers coming into Db2, and we know that these workloads are traditionally resource-intensive. They're not as efficient as static SQL. This meant that in the old days, our licensing costs would shoot up as we would have to upgrade the mainframes and it would make it more expensive.

IBM introduced these specialized processes and the zip allows the workload to be dispatched on that specialized processor. Not all of it - maybe 40% to 50% of a transaction is eligible to be dispatched on a zip. This means that we don't need as much of the standard mainframe engines to support the business workload. Anything that's running on a zip, we don't have to pay licensing fees.

This was something that made the mainframe more competitive again. Furthermore, with the mainframe we have now we can have the forerunner to virtualization (VM), which is what I started on back in the early 90s, known now as ZVM. Having ZVM means that you can run virtual machines in that OS. It acts as a hypervisor. It runs virtual machines in that OS that could be separate Linux instances.

The flagship or premium operating system on the mainframe is z/OS. It used to be called MVS, multiple virtual storage. We're going to be able to evaluate next year within Linux Dockers, in them LPARs, alongside all other tasks that we've got running such as Db2, such as KICKS. It is going to make it really interesting in the future.

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I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. Since it's a government contract, the rates are negotiated and agreed upon with the government. So, it's not like the standard market price. It's not super expensive, but also not cheap.

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We have a license for the Advanced Enterprise version of this solution.

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Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper. Oracle is very expensive. Sometimes, it is ten times more expensive than what we pay for Db2. However, Db2 has more features as compared to Oracle. When we buy Db2, we buy all the features. When we buy Oracle, we just buy a few features. For example, for row access security, you have a different product that you need to pay to unlock that functionality. Things like storage are available on Db2 straight out of the box. You have to pay Oracle to unlock new features.

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

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The solution's pricing is fine.

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While the solution is less expensive compared to Oracle, it is still pretty expensive. 

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It is expensive. The price depends on the size of the machine on which you are installing the Db2 and the features you are using. It also depends on the country. IBM has different policies and different options for payment for this product. 

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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.

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It's very expensive.

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It is expensive.

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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.

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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. 

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Clients are required to purchase a license.

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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.

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I think that everyone knows that with IBM the standard price is higher than the others.

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I am not paying the license for it individually. It's included in the package.

That said, the cost in general could be more reasonable for the package as a whole. 

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The solution costs less than other products. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.

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I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten.

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The solution's hardware and subscription model for support are very expensive in the Middle East or Egypt. 

I rate cost a three out of ten. 

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I am aware that IBM pricing is expensive in comparison to other products. 

However, I am not the person who dealt with pricing.

It is expensive when compared to other products.

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The licensing cost is charged annually. I rate it a ten out of ten.

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Among Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and Db2, Microsoft SQL Server is the cheapest one, and Oracle is the most expensive one. Db2 is in the middle. As compared to SQL Server, its price could go down. It will be good for customers.

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It's hard to separate out the exact pricing. It's bundled; you can't compare head-to-head against Oracle and SQL server at that point, as the costing is embedded inside of the purchase of the operating system software.

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We did not buy it. It came with our hardware without any complimentary maintenance. If I compare Db2 Database with Oracle Database, its price is lower than Oracle Database.

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The pricing is done by our pricing team and the quotes are given to the client's finance team. So in that sense, I do not have direct experience with the pricing models. I can say that Db2 is less costly than Oracle because I am selling both and I am doing enterprise sales for both. When a customer gets a quote during the buying process, I can see the pricing. The pricing for Db2 is always less than Oracle.  

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I love the way the product is licensed on zOS and zLinux (core-based). However, IBM needs to improve their licensing for cloud environment, as we are planning to leverage that platform extensively in the future. Right now, the setup for AWS/Azure licensing is very confusing and not cost-effective.

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There is an issue with IBM licenses pricing which is expensive, and it's the main downside of buying IBM products or databases.

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There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years.

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IBM Db2 was much cheaper as a package than using other products. This is because IBM supplied a package with its product. It's an application. So it was much more efficient and a stronger competitor in that regard.

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The cost is embedded in the price of the backup solution. We know that the backup solution is quite expensive and with each inside license, there is also a database license.

We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package.

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I am not directly involved with pricing and licensing, but I know that despite the associated cost of the software prudent and practical use of these products will be cost-effective. Mainframe software, after all, is expensive and you by strategically planning a security implementation up front will be beneficial in getting desired audit and security results.

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Not involved.

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The solution has annual licensing, and the costs are reasonable for the product. I rate the pricing a six out of ten.

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IBM's products tend to be quite costly, especially given the availability of free, open-source alternatives.

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I don't know too much about the pricing of the solution. There may be extra fees on top of just the licensing fee. I'm not sure.

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They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations).

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Licensing fees are on a yearly basis.

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I was not involved in the pricing negotiations. I would say it was cost effective based on the number of successful projects. View full review »

Use DB2 Express for your development environment, but consider using Workgroup Server Edition if you need to federate two databases together or need to server a huge amount of data. If you plan to be PCI-DSS compliant, use AWSE.

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If you want horizontal scaling and reliability, DB2 for i is absolutely the way to go.

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The solution is pretty expensive and IBM isn't very transparent in their pricing plans. You need to be aware of what your company specifically needs before purchasing anything.

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It depends on the customers. Often, DB2 is more expensive than Oracle on the same environment. There are those with more experience with Oracle, and it is hard to find DB2 DBAs, engineers, and experts.

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Calculating the license fee is always very complicated and only the IBM sales can get the final answer. It's not a transparent way.

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We normally handle large size businesses and as far as I am aware, the license is negotiable based on the number of users and the quantitative data.

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