IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Cloud Data Warehouse category. IBM is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.1. IBM holds a 0.5% mindshare in CDW, compared to Microsoft’s 6.5% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Read 7 IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud reviews

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113 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...

Read 92 Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics reviews

7,013 Views
3,039 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Azure Synapse Analytics and IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud are competitors in the cloud-based data warehousing category. Azure Synapse Analytics appears to have an edge in pricing and support, while IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud distinguishes itself with advanced features.

Features: Azure Synapse Analytics features include seamless integration with Microsoft services, advanced machine learning capabilities, and comprehensive data processing pipelines. IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud provides robust security, scalability, and advanced analytics capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Azure Synapse Analytics could improve data management capabilities, cost transparency, and ease of use for non-technical users. IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud might enhance integration with non-IBM services, reduce complexity for new users, and lower costs for smaller deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure offers a flexible deployment model with strong Microsoft integration and responsive customer support. IBM's solution focuses heavily on security and compliance with robust enterprise support.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Synapse Analytics is often seen as cost-effective for Microsoft ecosystems, providing a favorable ROI. IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud has higher initial costs, justified by its advanced feature set, delivering long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

February 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is 6.5%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Warehouse

Featured Reviews

FarhanFarhan

Database Engineer at Meezan Bank

Enhancing analytics with seamless data dumping and reliable support

Our primary use case is data storage and analytics The organization has decided to purchase a full stack solution from IBM due to positive responses, which helped them upgrade from the previous version. The data dumping into the raw zone and the feature of BigQuery is quite attractive. There…

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Renee Hoon

Data Platform Specialist at Sasol

Scalable performance tuning and optimization for finance and supply chain jobs

We run our finance and supply chain jobs using SQL BW, and we visualize our data loads on Power BI. We are using SQL Data Warehouse for data warehousing In terms of cost savings, we don't need specialization in skills as advanced as Teradata. We used to pay extensive licensing fees for Teradata,…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The performance is okay as long as the volume of queries is not too high."

"It is stable when there is support from IBM."

"The way that it scales will help a lot of customers that are stuck with Netezza boxes that can't grow any larger."

"It will be MPP, so performance should improve."

"We use Azure Synapse Analytics in many different areas and industries, so I like that you can administrate and create pipelines for difference sources of data and later integrate and deploy it to other internal areas, such as separate dashboards for financials, and so on."

"It's user-friendly and has a good dashboard."

"We find the serverless tool to be the most valuable feature ."

"They are very reliable and cost-effective."

"The stability is pretty good."

"We can have the dedicated SQL up and running within 15 minutes."

"Synapse Analytics' best feature is its ability to process large files."

"The most valuable feature is the incremental load because we do not need to refresh the entire data on a daily basis."

More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics pros

Cons

"Tech support for dashDB is awful. We usually have tickets open for three to four weeks."

"Containers get corrupted very easily. Restoring them using GPFS can result in a lot of issues."

"Ultimately, the product itself has challenges and we are not currently satisfied with the support, either."

"There are some limitations in adding data files to table spaces, and improvements are needed for regional support."

"Right now, we are implementing on ESX VMware 6.0. Support for this platform is poor. Also, one of the backup/recovery options is broken and IBM is not addressing the issue."

"Documentation could be improved."

"Synapse Analytics needs to develop an automation framework because now you have to build a cache yourself. You have to build a pipeline in WhereScape, which does end-to-end pipeline automation well. Microsoft should come up with a framework to save people time. If they developed a tool like WhereScape, it would dramatically reduce development time."

"I am very sure that there are areas in need of improvement, but I can't recall what they are off the top of my head."

"We'd, of course, always like to pay less for the service if we can."

"The major challenge that we're seeing with Azure Synapse is around security concerns. The way it is working right now, it has Managed VNet by Microsoft option, similar to the implementation of Azure Databricks, which may pose a concern for financial institutions. For managed environments, the banks have very strict policies around data being onboarded to those environments. For some confidential applications, the banks have the policy to encrypt it with their own key, so it is sort of like Bring Your Own Key, but it is not possible to manage the resources with Microsoft or Databricks, which is probably the major challenge with Azure Synapse. There should be more compatibility with SQL Server. It should be easier to migrate solutions between different environments because right now, it is not really competitive. It is not like you can go and install SQL Database in some other environment. You will have to go through some migration projects, which probably is one of the major showstoppers for any bank. When they consider Synapse, they not only consider the investment in the actual service; they also consider the cost of the migration process. When you scale out or scale down your system, it becomes unavailable for a few minutes. Because it is a data warehouse environment, it is not such a huge deal, but it would be great if they can improve it so that the platform is available during the change of configuration."

"Indicating what areas need improvement in this solution is a difficult question because the organizations that I am working for are really new in this area. However, an even better more simple interface, or perhaps an extension of a connector app store solution, would be helpful."

"One area for improvement could be better integration with Power BI, as well as data integration with BW."

"Synapse makes it easy to integrate and onboard data from other Microsoft and Azure sources. The interface is familiar because we were using Azure Data Factory before Synapse. It made the transition even easier because the Synapse interface is exactly the same."

More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If your going to go with warehouse DB/dashDB, use the cloud or Sailfish version."

"The solution is very expensive because it often requires the purchase of additional storage."

"The computer and storage costs are totally separate which allows you to work independently or manage costs."

"It requires a less expensive version because currently, not every customer is able to buy it. If it could have a smaller setup that doesn't require so many resources, it would be helpful, and we would be able to use it in more cases. We are a small country, and most of our customers are quite small businesses."

"Very costly solution and other products are available for less."

"The solution is subscription-based. You can also pay to use the product as you go."

"We have a licensing cost to pay."

"We only have to pay for what we use in the solution. It's easy for the customers. It's not more than some companies, not more than 300 to 400 users. They do not need to buy other license products, such as SAP B1, or analytics tools in the market, such as Tableau."

"The pricing is competitive, but only when you pay upfront. If you pay as you go, it's not as competitive. I'd give pricing a rating of seven out of ten."

More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

52%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud?

Organizations of all sizes, especially those who are in need of powerful and elastic cloud data warehouse solutions that can help administrators maximize the efficiency of their data-based operatio...

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What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud?

There are some limitations in adding data files to table spaces, and improvements are needed for regional support.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud?

Our primary use case is data storage and analytics.

See all answers

How does Amazon Redshift compare with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?

Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different dat...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?

The product is easy to use, and anybody can easily migrate to advanced DB.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?

We use an enterprise-level subscription for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics. I would rate our satisfaction with the price around five, as I have not focused much on cost aspects presently.

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Exadata vs IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Compared 38% of the time

IBM Netezza Performance Server vs IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Compared 32% of the time

Amazon Redshift vs IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Compared 30% of the time

More IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Competitors

SAP BW4HANA vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

Compared 16% of the time

Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

Compared 14% of the time

Snowflake vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

Compared 12% of the time

Teradata vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

Compared 9% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Data Warehouse

March 2025

Download IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

March 2025

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics report

Download Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics product report

Also Known As

IBM dashDB

Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics

Overview

IBM dashDB family offers private and public cloud database solutions for transactional and analytic workloads, with IBM fully managed or client managed options with a Common SQL engine across all deployment options.

IBM

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is an end-to-end analytics solution that successfully combines analytical services to merge big data analytics and enterprise data warehouses into a single unified platform. The solution can run intelligent distributed queries among nodes, and provides the ability to query both relational and non-relational data.

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is built with these 4 components:

Synapse SQL
Spark
Synapse Pipeline
Studio

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Features

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics has many valuable key features, including:

Cloud Data Service: WIth Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics you can operate services (data analytics, machine learning, data warehousing, dashboarding, etc.) in a single workspace via the cloud.
Structured and unstructured data: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics supports both structured and unstructured data and allows you to manage relational and non-relational data - unlike data warehouses and lakes that tend to store them respectively.
Effective data storage: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers next-level data storage with high availability and different tiers.
Responsive data engine: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics uses Massive Parallel Processing (MPP) and is designed to handle large volumes of data and analytical workloads efficiently without any problems.
Several scripting languages: The solution provides language compatibility and supports different programming languages, such as Python, Java, Spark SQL, and Scala.
Query optimization: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics works well to facilitate limitless concurrency and performance optimization. It also simplifies workload management.

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics include:

Database templates: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers industry-specific database templates that make it easy to combine and shape data.
Better business insights: With Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics you can expand discovery of insights from all your data and apply machine learning models to all your intelligent apps.
Reduce project development time: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics makes it possible to have a unified experience for developing end-to-end analytics, which reduces project development time significantly.
Eliminate data barriers: By using Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, you can perform analytics on operational and business apps data without data movement.
Advanced security: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics provides both advanced security and privacy features to ensure data protection.
Machine Learning: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics integrates Azure Machine Learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and Power BI.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics users who are currently using the solution.

PeerSpot user Jael S., who is an Information Architect at Systems Analysis & Design Engineering, comments on her experience using the product, saying that it is “Scalable, intuitive, facilitates compliance and keeps your data secure”. She also says "We also like governance. It looks at what the requirements are for the company to identify the best way to ensure compliance is met when you move to the cloud."

Michel T., CHTO at Timp-iT, mentions that "the features most valuable are the simplicity, how easy it is to create a dashboard from different information systems."

A Senior Teradata Consultant at a tech services company says, "Microsoft provides both the platform and the data center, so you don't have to look for a cloud vendor. It saves you from having to deal with two vendors for the same task."

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Copenhagen Business School, BPM Northwest, GameStop

Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe,

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

February 2025

Free Report: IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

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