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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    IBM Z

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AIBM Z is the company's mainframe enterprise server solution product line.N/A

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft SQL Server is a relational database.

    $1,418

    Per License

    Pricing
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Subscription
    $1,418.00
    Per License
    Enterprise
    $13,748.00
    Per License
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    19 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    53 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    45 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    18 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    53 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    87%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    39 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    18 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    45 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    Small Businesses
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Amazon RDS
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score7.6 out of 10
    SingleStore
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    IBM Power
    Score9 out of 10
    SAP IQ
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.6
    (42 ratings)
    7.9
    (107 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    4.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.6
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.9
    (3 ratings)
    7.9
    (26 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM ZMicrosoft SQL Server
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft SQL is ubiquitous, while MySQL runs under the hood all over the place. Microsoft SQL is the platform taught in colleges and certification courses and is the one most likely to be used by businesses because it is backed by Microsoft. Its interface is friendly (well, as pleasant as SQL can be) and has been used by so many for so long that resources are freely available if you encounter any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
    • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
    • Data Security
    • Easy to understand and use
    • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise edition has a high cost but is the only edition which supports SQL Always On Availability Groups. It would be nice to include this feature in the Standard version.
    • Licensing of Microsoft SQL Server is a quite complex matter, it would be good to simplify licensing in the future. For example, per core vs per user CAL licensing, as well as complex licensing scenarios in the Cloud and on Edge locations.
    • It would be good to include native tools for converting Oracle, DB2, Postgresql and MySQL/MariaDB databases (schema and data) for import into Microsoft SQL Server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    IBM
    Once you learn how, it easy. It's different than most other systems
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Its does not have outages.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    It was good
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    IBM
    There are many online courses from both IBM and other vendors. Most are great. All of the documentation is available online.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    very hands on and detailed training
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    [Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
    Incentivized
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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
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
    • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
    • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
    Incentivized
    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.