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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Db2

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ADB2 is a family of relational database software solutions offered by IBM. It includes standard Db2 and Db2 Warehouse editions, either deployable on-cloud, or on-premise.

    $0

    Microsoft BI (MSBI)

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.

    $14

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Editions & Modules
    Db2 on Cloud Lite
    $0
    Db2 on Cloud Standard
    $99
    per month
    Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex One
    $898
    per month
    Db2 on Cloud Enterprise
    $946
    per month
    Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex for AWS
    2,957
    per month
    Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex
    $3,451
    per month
    Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex Performance
    13,651
    per month
    Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex Performance for AWS
    13,651
    per month
    Db2 Standard Edition
    Contact Sales
    Db2 Advanced Edition
    Contact Sales
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Microsoft BI is mainly based on Microsoft SQL Server, so it is perfectly integrated. Many of the Microsoft BI components require using SQL Server as the database engine. Generally, the functionalities that are achieved when using SQL Server as a database engine are greater than …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    103 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    95 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    103 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    15 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    66 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    89 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.546 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.653 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.951 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    53 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.548 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities00 Ratings8.253 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings8.342 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.953 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    52 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Publish to Web00 Ratings9.348 Ratings
    Publish to PDF00 Ratings9.148 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings7.444 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.547 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.426 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    52 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings9.651 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.748 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.745 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.76 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.449 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.347 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.949 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.36 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.431 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.239 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings8.030 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.739 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Db2 and Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Feature
    Db2
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    24 Ratings
    9% above category average
    REST API00 Ratings9.221 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings8.821 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings8.820 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings8.718 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings8.021 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings7.319 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Small Businesses
    Amazon RDS
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    SingleStore
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    SAP IQ
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (114 ratings)
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.9
    (12 ratings)
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (9 ratings)
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    Availability
    9.3
    (64 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (12 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (6 ratings)
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.6
    (3 ratings)
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.8
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.3
    (66 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Db2Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBM
    I have primarily used it as the basis for a SIS - but I have migrated more than a few systems from there database systems to DB2 (Filemaker, MySQL, etc.). DB2 does have a better structural approach, as opposed to Filemaker, which allows for more data consistency, but this can also lead to an inflexibility that can sometimes be counterintuitive when attempting to compensate for the flexibility of the work environment as Schools tend to have an all in one approach.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI has a lot of features and is a very powerful tool, especially if you have folks on your team that know how to utilize all of its capabilities. To truly unlock all that it can do, it does require people to have a deep understanding of its capabilities. That's where the software really shines. If you are looking for a simpler, more basic reporting tool, there are other programs available that do not require such a steep learning curve.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    IBM
    • While we query a large set of data, the results are generally available within a minute or so.
    • Always reliable - I have never experienced an application going down.
    • It is easy to write queries and find tables and columns.
    • We can log in smoothly without any headaches.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Comparatively easy to use compared to other data analytics solutions, collaborating with other colleagues on data work is simple.
    • Using Visual Studio for database, ETL, reporting, and analytics development save time and money.
    • Transfer of data from one application to another via Excel and comparison of data attributes between applications
    • Dashboard functionality, as well as Python support, are available, allowing you to add additional charts and graphs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    IBM
    • Learning curve for DB resources - Improvements to UI or native command line built-ins can help with increasing efficiencies for DB resources
    • Better resource utilization monitoring and recommendations
    • Continue to adopt support for modern frameworks and languages making it easier for organizations to see making Db2 the easy first choice
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • MSBI designs can work on increasing data processing capabilities enough to handle the huge datasets etc.
    • It would be a lot better if it is a little low on cost.
    • it needs to create opportunities little more than they do regarding customization of some very unique visualization effects
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    IBM
    The DB2 database is a solid option for our school. We have been on this journey now for 3-4 years so we are still adapting to what it can do. We will renew our use of DB2 because we don’t see. Major need to change. Also, changing a main database in a school environment is a major project, so we’ll avoid that if possible.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI is fundamental to our suite of BI applications. That being said, Northcraft Analytics is focused on delighting our customers, so if the underlying factors of our decision change, we would choose to re-write our BI applications on a different stack. Luckily, mathematics are the fundamental IP of our technology... and is portable across all BI platforms for the foreseeable future.
    Read full review
    Usability
    IBM
    You have to be well versed in using the technology, not only from a GUI interface but from a command line interface to successfully use this software to its fullest.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The Microsoft BI tools have great usability for both developers and end users alike. For developers familiar with Visual Studio, there is little learning curve. For those not, the single Visual Studio IDE means not having to learn separate tools for each component. For end-users, the web interface for SSRS is simple to navigate with intuitive controls. For ad-hoc analysis, Excel can connect directly to SSAS and provide a pivot table like experience which is familiar to many users. For database development, there is beginning to be some confusion, as there are now three tool choices (VS, SSMS, Azure Data Studio) for developers. I would like to see Azure Data Studio become the superset of SSMS and eventually supplant it.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    IBM
    I have never had DB2 go down unexpectedly. It just works solidly every day. When I look at the logs, sometimes DB2 has figured out there was a need to build an index. Instead of waiting for me to do it, the database automatically created the index for me. At my current company, we have had zero issues for the past 8 years. We have upgrade the server 3 times and upgraded the OS each time and the only thing we saw was that DB2 got better and faster. It is simply amazing.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Performance
    IBM
    The performances are exceptional if you take care to maintain the database. It is a very powerful tool and at the same time very easy to use. In our installation, we expect a DB machine on the mainframe with access to the database through ODBC connectors directly from branch servers, with fabulous end users experience.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) can drag at times. We created two report servers and placed them under an F5 load balancer. This configuration has worked well. We have seen sluggish performance at times due to the Windows Firewall.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    IBM
    Easily the best product support team. :) Whenever we have questions, they have answered those in a timely manner and we like how they go above and beyond to help.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    MSBI natively has a site that allows you to vote on user enhancements and bug fixes. This allows the largest nagging issues to float to the top and the development team can prioritize accordingly. As mentioned earlier, the large community base of MSBI developers assist technical resources in handling technical questions.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    IBM
    the material was very clear and all subjects have been handled
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
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    Online Training
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I have used on-line training from Microsoft and from Pragmatic Works. I would recommend Pragmatic Works as the best way to get up to speed quickly, and then use the Microsoft on-line training to deep dive into specific features that you need to get depth with.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    IBM
    db2 work well with the application, also the replication tool can keep it up
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We are a consulting firm and as such our best resources are always billing on client projects. Our internal implementation has weaknesses, but that's true for any company like ours. My rating is based on the product's ease of implementation.
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    Alternatives Considered
    IBM
    DB2 was more scalable and easily configurable than other products we evaluated and short listed in terms of functionality and pricing. IBM also had a good demo on premise and provided us a sandbox experience to test out and play with the product and DB2 at that time came out better than other similar products.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We have used the built in ConnectWise Manager reports and custom reports. The reports provide static data. PowerBI shows us live data we can drill down into and easily adjust parameters. It's much more useful than a static PDF report.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    IBM
    By
    using DB2 only to support my IzPCA activities, my knowledge here
    is somewhat limited.

    Anyway,
    from what I was able to understand, DB2 is extremely scallable.

    Maybe the information below could serve as an example of scalability.
    Customer have an huge mainframe environment, 13x z15 CECs, around
    80 LPARs, and maybe more than 50 Sysplexes (I am not totally sure about this
    last figure...)

    Today
    we have 7 IzPCA
    databases, each one in a distinct Syplex.

    Plans
    are underway to have, at the end, an small LPAR, with only one DB2 sub-system,
    and with only one database, then transmit the data from a lot of other LPARs,
    and then process all the data in this only one database.



    The
    IzPCA collect process (read the data received, manipulate it, and insert rows
    in the tables) today is a huge process, demanding many elapsed
    hours, and lots of CPU.

    Almost
    100% of the tables are PBR type, insert jobs run in parallel, but in 4 of the 7
    database, it is a really a huge and long process.



    Combining
    the INSERTs loads from the 7 databases in only one will be impossible.......,,,,



    But,
    IzPCA recently introduced a new feature, called "Continuous
    Collector"
    .
    By
    using that feature, small amounts of data will be transmited to the central
    LPAR at every 5 minutes (or even less), processed immediately,in
    a short period of time, and with small use of CPU,
    instead of one or two transmissions by day, of very large amounts of data and
    the corresponding collect jobs occurring only once or twice a day, with long
    elapsed times, and huge comsumption of CPU



    I
    suspect the total CPU seconds consumed will be more or less the same in
    both cases, but in the new method it will occur in small bursts
    many times a day!!
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    IBM
    • Negative: Difficult and manual deployment
    • Negative: Missing assistants from common monitoring metrics
    • Positive: Stability
    • Positive: Performance
    • Positive: Resiliency and high availability (HADR)
    • Positive: Data Replication (Q-Rep)
    • Positive: Interaction with storage subsystems for backups (TSM, SVC)
    • Positive: Gigantic monitoring features in the form of table functions
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • As a SaaS provider we see being able to provide self-service BI to our client users as a competitive advantage. In fact the MSSQL enabled BI is a contributing factor to many winning RFPs we have done for prospective client organisations.
    • However MSSQL BI requires extensive knowledge and skills to design and develop data warehouses & data models as a foundation to support business analysts and users to interrogate data effectively and efficiently. Often times we find having strong in-house MSSQL expertise is a bless.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Db2 Screenshots

    Screenshot of Db2 - Data sharingScreenshot of Db2 - Machine LearningScreenshot of Db2 - Real time insights