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IBM Db2 Database vs SAP IQ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP IQ
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.0%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP IQ is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

SimonHiggins - PeerSpot reviewer
Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support
The good thing is that there are improvements coming with later function levels for the z/OS Db2. I'd like it if, with the operating system that we've got, z/OS, on the mainframe, it would allow us to refresh the hardware to run Linux dockers on the mainframe. This means this might give us opportunities for different ways of coming into the Db2 environment in the future. We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment. Not only have we got the premium operating systems on OS. We can run LPARs on the same mainframe footprint that is also supporting Linux. This is what has improved and made the mainframe environment more competitive. We're also looking at AI for Db2 as well, and machine learning for the future. We know that AI has come out, that we're going to get that, and we're going to evaluate that product next year for Db2. That said, I haven't got any real complaints about Db2 on the mainframe. For the most part, a lot of the problems we have nowadays are to do with communication between the various teams that you would class as stakeholders.
Tejas Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
Columnar database, so pulling records is easy but there isn't enough documentation for installation
I've seen very few SAP IQ systems in recent years. So people are moving away from SAP IQ In the last three years, I've rarely encountered customers using it. Fewer systems with SAP IQ usage among our customers. Most of them have moved on to HANA. There are parallel products, and there are also viable alternatives from AWS, so many have migrated to those.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I have found the most valuable feature to be its availability."
"The most valuable feature is PowerPC support."
"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."
"I can easily export that to further work on it in Snowflake."
"It's easy to search and extract data from the warehouse using queries."
"​Scales well enough for a relational database."
"It is quite a stable solution."
"We are dealing with millions of transactions a month and the performance is very good."
"The product is easy to learn."
"Unbeatable speed and compression with a colummn-structured relational database."
"The column-based technologies (basically all the database for ITP) are used for SAP IQ. It is used as a column-based solution."
"All data is compressed and indexed, allowing for fast execution of transactions."
"Valuable features for us include the compression, speed, fast response time, and easy object maintenance."
"IQ is a very high-performance and high-transaction database."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It is very robust for ad hoc DW queries and its columnar compression is unique and valuable."
 

Cons

"Some of the internal rearrangement in the administration is not as straightforward as it is in competing products."
"GUI needs improvement."
"I would like to see better support for advanced analytics."
"We need some time to improve the performance. We have to perform a weekly REORG, or else RUNSTATS for the databases."
"There could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities."
"End-to-end encryption specifically is something the solution needs to have in the next release."
"Their view of it is they're maintaining it, they're continuing to upgrade it, they're continuing to grow it, however, they don't go out and try and sell that as an architectural solution the way they do Linux and Unix."
"​Not very solid compared to its competitors' products.​"
"The tool gets stuck sometimes."
"Multiplex is very problematic. There are consistency problems in the metadata, meaning it is possible to lose metadata consistency. You should make sure you have healthy backups."
"The primary negative aspect is the cost, which can be a challenge due to the economic conditions in Peru."
"The organization who owns the product does not support it well and appears not to be doing significant development for the future."
"There is very little documentation available."
"Concurrency and functional error messaging."
"The room for improvement would be the marketing of the product, because this product is much better than advertised."
"The solution works best when combined with other SAP solutions. If the environment has other systems other options might be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."
"I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten."
"Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper."
"It is expensive when compared to other products."
"Clients are required to purchase a license."
"They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations). ​"
"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."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"Evaluate all options; check to see if you need expensive add-ons."
"The only costs after standard licensing fees are for add-ons and upgrades."
"It's not that costly. So, the pricing is cheap."
"The cost of implementation is about $3,000."
"Negotiation is very important."
"Negotiate based on the features required."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
45%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?
Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?
IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS. Modern features are being implemented, but further simplification and the inclusion o...
What do you like most about SAP IQ?
The primary benefit of SAP IQ is its ability to limit the expansion of the costly SAP HANA database, which has limited storage capacity. This necessitates a form of data management that involves mo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP IQ?
IQ implementation costs about three thousand dollars. It's less expensive compared to alternatives like Teradata Base in terms of transactional efficiency.
What needs improvement with SAP IQ?
The primary negative aspect is the cost, which can be a challenge due to the economic conditions in Peru.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
Sybase IQ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto
ASR Group, Citrix, State of Indiana, PocketCard Co. Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. SAP IQ and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.