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IBM Db2 Database vs SAP IQ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.6
IBM Db2 Database offers high ROI with enhanced efficiency and performance, despite initial costs, supporting seamless business projects.
Sentiment score
7.0
SAP IQ offers a high ROI with low implementation costs and significant hardware savings, despite some users not tracking exact returns.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
IBM Db2 support is generally reliable yet requires speed improvements; users find response times and expertise occasionally lacking.
Sentiment score
5.6
SAP IQ's service is mixed, with good global support but issues with expertise, staff shortages, and inefficient initial responses.
We normally receive substantial discounts on the price.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
IBM Db2 excels in scalability for large companies but faces challenges with horizontal scaling and increasing costs.
Sentiment score
7.4
SAP IQ excels in scalability, with easy expansion, though some multiplex architecture limitations are noted by users.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Db2 Database is highly rated for stability and reliability, though performance can dip with significant data growth.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP IQ's stability has improved, handling high data volumes well, despite occasional issues in earlier versions under high load.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Db2 Database needs usability, integration, and cloud improvements, plus better licensing, analytics, security, and standardization tools.
SAP IQ needs better integration, stability, training, and affordability to overcome awareness and concurrency issues, enhancing user appeal.
It might be slightly slower than other database vendors, but it works well since banks typically do not move quickly with leading-edge technology.
 

Setup Cost

IBM Db2 pricing is complex and expensive, especially in Africa and the Middle East, but offers robust features.
SAP IQ offers cost-effective licensing options and economical implementation, ideal for large databases needing partitioning and performance evaluation.
 

Valuable Features

IBM Db2 Database offers SQL, Java integration, scalability, security, and seamless IBM integration for flexible, reliable enterprise applications.
SAP IQ provides fast query processing, data compression, and scalability, ideal for BI with high data demands and user concurrency.
IBM Db2 Database, because of enterprise performance and support, is why banks still maintain their relationship with it.
The IBM Db2 Database is trusted, and IT effort is less than any other product.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP IQ
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
27th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.6%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP IQ is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Michael Raz - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient access path optimization and performance excellence with helpful support
IBM Db2 for zOS serves as the central database for all the core business applications in the two banks I work with. All applications use Db2 as a data server. We fully implement and utilize most of Db2's functionalities and capabilities for core banking business applications IBM Db2 has…
Tejas Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
Columnar database, so pulling records is easy but there isn't enough documentation for installation
I've seen very few SAP IQ systems in recent years. So people are moving away from SAP IQ In the last three years, I've rarely encountered customers using it. Fewer systems with SAP IQ usage among our customers. Most of them have moved on to HANA. There are parallel products, and there are also viable alternatives from AWS, so many have migrated to those.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
42%
Healthcare Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?
Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?
IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
The IBM Db2 Database is a good solution, but now there is a high maintenance charge. The IBM Db2 Database needs improved support, and there are many difficulties in using it. We tend to use the clo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP IQ?
IQ implementation costs about three thousand dollars. It's less expensive compared to alternatives like Teradata Base in terms of transactional efficiency.
What needs improvement with SAP IQ?
The primary negative aspect is the cost, which can be a challenge due to the economic conditions in Peru.
What is your primary use case for SAP IQ?
I worked on implementing new databases, migration data in production, and developer environments with SAP IQ.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
Sybase IQ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto
ASR Group, Citrix, State of Indiana, PocketCard Co. Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. SAP IQ and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.