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The Emerging Enterprise - Software Short-Cut: Big Database for a Smaller Planet
Software Short-Cut: Big Database for a Smaller Planet
Time to migrate that database? Big Blue takes the fear and headaches out of the venerable DB2 for small and mid-tier businesses.
By Dayna Haberle-Delmonico
Product Name: DB2 UDB Express
Vendor: IBM
Release Date: 2nd quarter 2003
Product Family: DB2 Universal Database (DB2 UDB)
Family Release Date 1983
Product Range: Desktop to Enterprise
Product Type: Relational database
Target Market: Small and mid-tier business
Functions and Features: Provides full functions of its parent product without the installation and maintenance headaches
Product Life Cycle: Keep evolving - YES. Abandon it - NEVER
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Operating Systems: Windows; Linux
API support: JDBC, SQLJ, ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.NET, DB2 CLI, Embedded SQL, XML and Web Services and component-based architectures using such technologies as Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), JavaBeans, Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) and XML.
The Competition: Microsoft SQL Server 2000; Oracle9i SE and others
Installation: A small IT Department with some database experience or your local IBM Authorized Partner; not for the novice nor "the person who knows computers".
Ongoing Support: A small IT Department or IBM Authorized Partner
Pricing: $499 for a base server package, with an additional licensing cost of $99 per user.
Purchasing: IBM Authorized Partners; a trial version is available for download from IBM's web site.
If you're new to the "big iron" technology world, you may not be familiar with DB2. IBM plans on changing that.
The technology industry is full of acronyms and nobody is more to blame for that than IBM (International Business Machines). DB2 is the name of IBM's second relational database (get it, DB2?) introduced in 1983 for IBM's mainframe operating system MVS (there they go again). Somewhere along the way UDB (Universal Database) was added to the title (who says these guys don't have an imagination?) If twenty years isn't experienced enough for you, they can do even better. IBM has been in the business of developing relational databases since 1970.
Relational databases remain the mainstay of database computing. Relational databases link records from multiple database files using common fields, such as an account number. For example, under this approach ABC Corp. orders all have the common customer number 123, and such things as customer record, product purchases, etc., can reside in different records. The database "assembles" a report by pulling requested information from all the records. Historically DB2 was a big iron application for the likes of the Fortune 500, data intensive corporations and traditional IBM "shops". The original Windows Edition of DB2 arrived in 1995 and Linux in 1999.
With the introduction of DB2 Express, Big Blue is offering it's full-function database to that part of the market that previously stayed away from the complications of powerful databases. According to company documents Express is a "database for the deployment of your e-Business solution" and features built-in automatic configuration, tuning, healing and protection features.
IBM's SMART (self-managing and resource tuning) technology means Express will minimize the headaches and costs of database installation, administration and maintenance. The Configuration Advisor provides facilities to configure the DB2 UDB Express environment to optimize performance. The Health Center monitors your DB2 system, alerting you to potential DB2 operational issues, and providing advice about resolving them. Even so, if you don't have a small tech support department with some database experience you may get to know your local IBM Partner really well, really fast. Though simplified, users will need to have some experience around to get the maximum out of this product and to realize the possibilities of database computing.
For those businesses with an in-house IT staff, the product supports a full range of industry-standard APIs including JDBC, SQLJ, ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.NET, DB2 CLI, Embedded SQL, XML and Web Services and component-based architectures using such technologies as Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), JavaBeans, Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) and XML. DB2 UDB also provides add-ins for popular IDE's such as WebSphere Studio Application Developer, Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002, Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual InterDev. In addition, it is supported on the Windows Server 2003 and Linux platforms.
Although pricing for the server package and 1 user is $598.00 is affordable for smaller organizations, but we'd guess mid-range companies with 100 or more users are the most likely purchasers.
For a company with 50 users of a particular application, the offering costs $5,449, compared to approximately $7,967 for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. This starting point represents 30% lower on up-front cost than the competition, and users will have a plethora of IBM Partners for support.
If your company is in a specific vertical market, like retail, manufacturing and banking, Express comes pre-configured. Express is just one of IBM's recent slew of new software product offerings for the small and medium-size business market all of which are offered via these Partners (resellers).
Finally, have no fear of IBM abandoning this product, they've been in the relational database business since 1970. With 425,000 companies, worldwide, using one of IBM's most illustrious products, it would be tough to go wrong.
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