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IBM Db2 Database vs Vertica 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (6th)
Vertica
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (5th), Cloud Data Warehouse (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM Db2 Database and Vertica aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. IBM Db2 Database is designed for Relational Databases Tools and holds a mindshare of 7.2%, up 6.5% compared to last year.
Vertica, on the other hand, focuses on Data Warehouse, holds 9.1% mindshare, up 8.8% since last year.
Relational Databases Tools
Data Warehouse
 

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.
T Venkatesh - PeerSpot reviewer
Processes query faster through multiple systems simultaneously, but it could support different data types
We use the solution for various tasks, including preparing data marts and generating offers. It helps extract data based on rules from the policy team and provides insights to enhance business operations. We also analyze transactions to target customers and improve business performance The…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a scalable solution."
"I have found the most valuable feature to be its availability."
"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."
"Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need."
"Db2 Database has given us good results since we have started to use it. We predominantly use IBM hardware, and this is one of the reasons why we started to use Db2 Database. Db2 Database has a very good HADR capability. High availability resilience is also good in this solution. It also has pureScale, which allows you to upgrade one node to get very good and high-level resilience. If you are using a database on five nodes, you can take one node down, upgrade that, and let that node up. You can then bring the second node down, upgrade that, and so on."
"It's a very mature product."
"We are dealing with millions of transactions a month and the performance is very good."
"​Scales well enough for a relational database."
"I enjoy the cybersecurity and backup features."
"It's the fastest database I have ever tested. That's the most important feature of Vertica."
"For me, It's performance, scalability, low cost, and it's integrated into enterprise and big data environments."
"It maximizes cloud economics with Eon Mode by scaling cluster size to meet variable workload demands."
"It maximize cloud economics for mission-critical big data analytical initiatives."
"The feature I like best is performance. We use Red Tool and Red Job for the data warehouse and reporting. It's perfect. Performance is good, and it can return ad hoc queries very quickly. Of course, it's a cluster, so it's easy to scale."
"The extensibility and efficiency provided by their C++ SDK."
"Vertica's most outstanding features are the compression rates achieved and the speed of access of high volume data."
 

Cons

"IBM's support isn't as strong as it used to be, especially when it comes to providing fixes."
"We need some time to improve the performance. We have to perform a weekly REORG, or else RUNSTATS for the databases."
"IBM Db2 Database could improve the user-defined functions. There are some user-defined functions that are missing, such as the spring functions. I used to have Teradata for my projects and I was used to working in the environment. They had a good set of user-defined functions."
"It would be helpful to have a hybrid data storage facility that includes NoSQL technologies."
"The solution no longer supports POWER8."
"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."
"The only drawback that we see in Db2 Database is the crash recovery. When there is a crash and somebody has to do the recovery, Db2 Database first stops, and then it does any crash recovery. In Oracle Database, crash recovery happens within the database. The database is not shut down."
"There are some issues with Db2's database file system not being readable. The storage could also be increased, and the monitoring could be improved."
"Vertica seems to scale well, except for one use case where you are on a multi-node cluster. For example, if you had a nine-node cluster, one node goes down, then the eight nodes don't scale, because the absence of the node is very apparent, which is a problem. If you have nine nodes or multiple nodes, the whole idea is that if one of those nodes goes down, then you should not see an impact on the system if you have enough capacity. Even though we have enough capacity, you can still see the impact of the one node going down."
"Vertica offers a platform-as-a-service version, but their software-as-a-service solution is only available on AWS. They need to get a SaaS version on Azure and GCP as fast as possible."
"It needs integration with multiple clouds."
"When it is about to reach the maximum storage capacity, it becomes slow."
"In a future release, we would like to have artificial intelligence capabilities like neural networks. Customers are demanding this type of analytics."
"It would be great if this were a managed service in AWS."
"We are looking for a cheaper deployment for the solution. Although we did a lot of benchmarks, like Redshift. We tried Redshift, it didn't work. It didn't work out for us as well."
"It's hard to make it slow for a small data volume. For large volumes, it's hard to make it work. It's also hard to make it faster, and to make it scale."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"
"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."
"It is expensive when compared to other products."
"The solution's pricing is fine."
"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."
"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."
"I think that everyone knows that with IBM the standard price is higher than the others."
"The solution costs less than other products."
"The solution is relatively cost-effective."
"Start with license per 1TB. Starting from hundreds of TB there is unlimited licensing to be considered. Move historical data to HDFS/S3 which are significantly cheaper or even free."
"The pricing for this solution is very reasonable compared to other vendors."
"Read the fine print carefully."
"It's an expensive product"
"Vertica has a perpetual license, but they are currently trying to convert all those licenses to subscription-based licenses on a yearly basis."
"The price of Vertica is less expensive than some competitors, such as Teradata."
"The pricing could improve, it is a little expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
61%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
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 Vertica?
Vertica is easy to use and provides really high performance, stability, and scalability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vertica?
The solution is relatively cost-effective. Pricing and licensing are reasonable compared to other solutions.
What needs improvement with Vertica?
The product could improve by adding support for a wider variety of data types and enhancing features to better compete with other databases.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
Micro Focus Vertica, HPE Vertica, HPE Vertica on Demand
 

Learn More

 

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
Cerner, Game Show Network Game, Guess by Marciano, Supercell, Etsy, Nascar, Empirix, adMarketplace, and Cardlytics.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others in Relational Databases Tools. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.