IBM Z vs. Oracle Database

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Z
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
IBM Z is the company's mainframe enterprise server solution product line.N/A
Oracle Database
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Oracle Database, currently in edition 23ai, is a converged, multimodel database management system. It is designed to simplify development for AI, microservices, graph, document, spatial, and relational applications.
$0.05
per hour
Pricing
IBM ZOracle Database
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Oracle Base Database Service - Standard
$0.0538
per hour
Oracle Base Database Service - Enterprise
$0.1075
per hour
Oracle Base Database Service - High Performance
$0.2218
per hour
Standard Edition
Contact Sales
Enterprise Edition
Contact Sales
Personal Edition
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM ZOracle Database
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM ZOracle Database
Features
IBM ZOracle Database
Relational Databases
Comparison of Relational Databases features of Product A and Product B
IBM Z
-
Ratings
Oracle Database
8.4
6 Ratings
6% above category average
ACID compliance00 Ratings8.76 Ratings
Database monitoring00 Ratings8.76 Ratings
Database locking00 Ratings8.56 Ratings
Encryption00 Ratings9.45 Ratings
Disaster recovery00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Flexible deployment00 Ratings6.36 Ratings
Multiple datatypes00 Ratings8.06 Ratings
Best Alternatives
IBM ZOracle Database
Small Businesses
Dell PowerEdge
Dell PowerEdge
Score 8.1 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
HPE ProLiant DL
HPE ProLiant DL
Score 8.6 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Power
IBM Power
Score 9.0 out of 10
SAP IQ
SAP IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM ZOracle Database
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(42 ratings)
9.0
(190 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(3 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Usability
4.0
(2 ratings)
7.4
(5 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(3 ratings)
7.0
(5 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
9.6
(3 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM ZOracle Database
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
Most of the time, server utilization is reliable and stable during peak times. Truly amazing, this product offers a lot and gets it done in no time without any confusion.It is reliable, too accurate and the performance is top-notch. It seems to be competitive in all virtual energy systems and its connectivity is also good. It's available at a low cost, but it's enough to have as many low-cost, more efficient systems as possible. It's a minor thing, but very rarely, it can cause work interruptions while it can get stuck due to more frequent use such as restless work. These power servers are very efficient and really help when things go wrong. I am using this product to retrieve data much faster.
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Oracle
We migrated from NoSQL to an Oracle database. One of the reasons was robust backup and recovery options available in the Oracle database, which provide zero data loss. A transactional database like Oracle is a better fit for our use case than NoSQL. On a large scale, deployment was evaluated as a cheaper option than the NoSQL engine. This conclusion came even after considering Oracle license is expensive.
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Pros
IBM
  • Virtualization for Scale-Out and Scale-Up in the same footprint
  • Security for different workloads: Large Confidential Computing and lightweight Secure Execution
  • Performance is a true game changer: extreme throughput powered by amazingly huge caches.
  • The one and only FIPS 140-2 Level 4 HSM on this planet
  • Quantum Safe Encryption NOW!
  • AI infusion to every transaction
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Oracle
  • Supports most of the Operating Systems like Unix, Linux and Windows Server.
  • It works well in high load environment under intense parallel transactions setup.
  • Highly reliable DBMS, especially RAC is very much reliable.
  • Well managed and predictable release of security patches.
  • We have highly scaled it from on-prem to a cloud cluster environment for our product.
  • One of the best-performing DBMSs on Linux machines under test delivers high throughput (QPS).
Read full review
Cons
IBM
  • It would be good if IBM could demonstrate more use cases for Z to potential clients
  • A migration strategy from Open Systems to Z would be helpful
  • Any additional marketing to could explain the benefits of Z/Linux, especially now that RedHat is in the mix.
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Oracle
  • The memory demand and management makes it impossible to run it in a container.
  • It is hard to perform local unit testing with Oracle even using the personal edition (aggressive all the available memory grab for itself).
  • Lack of built in database migrations (e.g. as Flyway).
  • The need to install the Oracle client in addition to its drivers.
  • The cost of running it, especially in the Cloud.
  • Comes with very spartan community grade client/management tools whereas the commercial offerings tend to demand a premium price.
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Likelihood to Renew
IBM
The IBM Z mainframe capabilities are unmatched for cloud readiness and optimization the learning capabilities are matched perfectly with Watson and the expandability of the cloud makes it a perfect choice.
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Oracle
There is a lot of sunk cost in a product like Oracle 12c. It is doing a great job, it would not provide us much benefit to switch to another product even if it did the same thing due to the work involved in making such a switch. It would not be cost effective.
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Usability
IBM
Once you learn how, it easy. It's different than most other systems
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Oracle
Many of the powerful options can be auto-configured but there are still many things to take into account at the moment of installing and configuring an Oracle Database, compared with SQL Server or other databases. At the same time, that extra complexity allows for detailed configuration and guarantees performance, scalability, availability and security.
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Reliability and Availability
IBM
The Z in IBM Z is for zero down time. If you configure your system according to IBM's best practices, you can achieve zero downtime
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Performance
IBM
Performance is a major part when you configure your system. IBM has many tools to study your system and suggest the appropriate configuration. With the right contract, you can add processing power dynamically and remove it when no longer needed
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
IBM
Support is usually superb, only occasionally dropping to very good. We participate in some of the CD (Continuous Delivery) aspects of z/OS, IMS, MQ, and DB2.
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Oracle
1. I have very good experience with Oracle Database support team. Oracle support team has pool of talented Oracle Analyst resources in different regions. To name a few regions - EMEA, Asia, USA(EST, MST, PST), Australia. Their support staffs are very supportive, well trained, and customer focused. Whenever I open Oracle Sev1 SR(service request), I always get prompt update on my case timely. 2. Oracle has zoom call and chat session option linked to Oracle SR. Whenever you are in Oracle portal - you can chat with the Oracle Analyst who is working on your case. You can request for Oracle zoom call thru which you can share the your problem server screen in no time. This is very nice as it saves lot of time and energy in case you have to follow up with oracle support for your case. 3.Oracle has excellent knowledge base in which all the customer databases critical problems and their solutions are well documented. It is very easy to follow without consulting to support team at first.
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In-Person Training
IBM
Over my 33 years on this platform, I attended many in person courses, conferences, and other training opportunities.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Online Training
IBM
There are many online courses from both IBM and other vendors. Most are great. All of the documentation is available online.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
IBM
I do not personally have any key insights regarding implementation of IBM Z Enterprise Servers as that is what our mainframe architects do.
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Oracle
Overall the implementation went very well and after that everything came out as expected - in terms of performance and scalability. People should always install and upgrade a stable version for production with the latest patch set updates, test properly as much as possible, and should have a backup plan if anything unexpected happens
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Alternatives Considered
IBM
IBM Z is the best storage solution as it provides the best in class data protection with the cryptographic hardware keys, no loss in data while migration, and a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for develops to understand and has less of a learning curve. This makes it well above the competition.
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Oracle
Because of a rich user base and support for any critical issue, this is one of the best options to choose. In case the project has a TCO issue, it can compromise and choose Postgres as the best alternative. SQL server is also good and easy to code and maintain but performance is not as good as the Oracle
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Scalability
IBM
If you need more processing power, just add more CPU's or memory. The largest system can have close to 200 CPU's and 40 TB of memory. If that is not enough, you can add more physical computers, and connect them using a sysplex
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
IBM
  • With IBM Z we really feel a different positive impact on our company. A trustworthy and the most powerful place we have ever.
  • A unique computing platform that helps a lot for the progress of our company.
  • It keeps our data save, encrypted.
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Oracle
  • Multiple applications can use the same database and still get high performance
  • Licensing cost is still a concern compared to the other options available in the market that are very very inexpensive
  • Almost a maintenance free database
  • Oracle Grid makes life easy in terms of monitoring and managing the databases
Read full review
ScreenShots

IBM Z Screenshots

Screenshot of IBM z17™ single-frame 

This configuration is optimized for enhanced modularity and is available in a traditional factory-frame setup. It provides advanced capabilities and is ideal for environments requiring a robust and scalable solution within an industry-standard footprint.  

IBM z17™ single-frame 

This configuration is optimized for enhanced modularity and is available in a traditional factory-frame setup. It provides advanced capabilities and is ideal for environments requiring a robust and scalable solution within an industry-standard footprint.Screenshot of IBM z17™ multi-frame 

This configuration is designed for general-purpose use, offering a balance of performance, scalability and security suitable for a wide range of applications.Screenshot of IBM z17™ rack mount 

This rack-mounted configuration allows for installation in existing data center rack infrastructures, providing flexibility and integration with current systems. It combines IBM Z's strengths with the convenience of modern rack-mounted hardware.