What users are saying about
19 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.7 out of 100
Based on 19 reviews and ratings
4 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.4 out of 100
Based on 4 reviews and ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Apache Pig
It is one great option in terms of database pipelining. It is highly effective for unstructured datasets to work with. Also, Apache Pig being a procedural language, unlike SQL, it is also easy to learn compared to other alternatives. But other alternatives like Apache Spark would be my recommendation due to the high availability of advanced libraries, which will reduce our extra efforts of writing from scratch
Data Analyst
The University of Texas at ArlingtonElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 1001-5000 employees
Db2 Big SQL
My recommendation obviously would depend on the application. But I think given the right requirements, IBM DB2 Big SQL is definitely a contender for a database platform. Especially when disparate data and multiple data stores are involved. I like the fact I can use the product to federate my data and make it look like it's all in one place. The engine is high performance and if you desire to use Hadoop, this could be your platform.
Vice President, Chief Architect, Development Manager and Software Engineer
WySTAR Global Retirement Solutions, a Wells Fargo CompanyFinancial Services, 10,001+ employees
Pros
Apache Pig
- Iterative Development - you can write aliases/variables, which are not immediately executed and these are stored in a DAG, which is only evaluated upon dumping or storing another alias.
- Fast execution - Works with MapReduce, Tez, or Spark execution frameworks to provide fast run times at large scales.
- Local and remote interoperability - Scripts that depend on testing a small dataset locally before moving to the full thing can simply be done with "pig -x local."
Software Consultant
Avalon ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Db2 Big SQL
- data storage
- data manipulation
- data definitions
- data reliability
Database Administrator
RewardsLive.comInternet, 51-200 employees
Cons
Apache Pig
- May not fit every need and a SQL-like abstraction may be more effective for some tasks (look at Spark-SQL, Hive, or even an actual DBMS)
- All Pig jobs are written in a Domain Specific Language so not a lot of transferable knowledge
- Writing your own User Defined Functions (UDFS) is a nice feature but can be painful to implement in practice

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Computer Software Company, 51-200 employeesDb2 Big SQL
- Cloud readiness.
- Ease of implementation.
Vice President, Chief Architect, Development Manager and Software Engineer
WySTAR Global Retirement Solutions, a Wells Fargo CompanyFinancial Services, 10,001+ employees
Usability
Apache Pig
Apache Pig 10.0
Based on 1 answer
It is quick, fast and easy to implement Apache Pig which makes is quite popular to be used.
Research Assistant
Iowa State UniversityHigher Education, 5001-10,000 employees
Db2 Big SQL
Db2 Big SQL 8.0
Based on 1 answer
IBM DB2 is a solid service but hasn't seen much innovation over the past decade. It gets the job done and supports our IT operations across digital so it is fair.
Database Administrator
RewardsLive.comInternet, 51-200 employees
Support Rating
Apache Pig
Apache Pig 6.0
Based on 2 answers
The documentation is adequate. I'm not sure how large of an external community there is for support.
Software Consultant
Avalon ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Db2 Big SQL
Db2 Big SQL 8.7
Based on 2 answers
IBM did a good job of supporting us during our evaluation and proof of concept. They were able to provide all necessary guidance, answer questions, help us architect it, etc. We were pleased with the support provided by the vendor. I will caveat and say this support was all before the sale, however, we have a ton of IBM products and they provide the same high level of support for all of them. I didn't see this being any different. I give IBM support two thumbs up!
Vice President, Chief Architect, Development Manager and Software Engineer
WySTAR Global Retirement Solutions, a Wells Fargo CompanyFinancial Services, 10,001+ employees
Alternatives Considered
Apache Pig
- Provided better ways for optimized hadoop jobs than Hive but not anymore.- Spark DSL is much more advanced and compute times are significantly less.

Verified User
Team Lead in Engineering
Retail Company, 10,001+ employeesDb2 Big SQL
MS SQL Server was ruled out given we didn't feel we could collapse environments. We thought of MS-SQL as more of a one for one replacement for Sybase ASE, i.e., server for server. SAP HANA was evaluated and given a big thumbs up but was rejected because the SQL would have to be rewritten at the time (now they have an accelerator so you don't have to). Also, there was a very low adoption rate within the enterprise. IBM DB2 Big SQL was not selected even though technically it achieved high scores, because we could not find readily available talent and low adoption rate within the enterprise (basically no adoption at the time). We ended up selecting Exadata because of the high adoption rate within the enterprise even though technically HANA and Big SQL were superior in our evaluations.
Vice President, Chief Architect, Development Manager and Software Engineer
WySTAR Global Retirement Solutions, a Wells Fargo CompanyFinancial Services, 10,001+ employees
Return on Investment
Apache Pig
- Return on Investments are significant considering what it can do with traditional analysis techniques. But, other alternatives like Apache Spark, Hive being more efficient, it is hard to stick to Apache Pig.
- It can handle large datasets pretty easily compared to SQL. But, again, alternatives are more efficient.
- While working on unstructured, decentralized dataset, Pig is highly beneficial, as it is not a complete deviation from SQL, but it does not take you in complexity MapReduce as well.
Data Analyst
The University of Texas at ArlingtonElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 1001-5000 employees
Db2 Big SQL
- better data visibility
- solid reliability for mission critical data
Database Administrator
RewardsLive.comInternet, 51-200 employees
Pricing Details
Apache Pig
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Db2 Big SQL
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No