MUNICH, June 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As global data volumes continue to soar and data protection regulations climb, organizations of all sizes are looking for new ways to rein in, manage and develop for that information.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced several key additions and enhancements to its popular database software, IBM Db2, that bring the trusted enterprise-class data management capabilities to global clients in fast, new, easy ways.

The company launched today Db2 Developer Community Edition, a new offering aimed at developers that can be quickly and easily downloaded, at no cost. This new edition, is a full-featured version of Db2 that is designed to enable developers to rapidly build prototypes of applications that leverage all the capabilities of the Enterprise Edition. Whether to desktops or laptops, users can download the complete software and begin uploading and managing their data usually within 15 minutes or less.

"Among many organizations, we're witnessing a shift in influence to a new breed of application developer who is looking for agile ways to create apps that their companies can leverage," said Rob Thomas, General Manager, IBM Analytics. "Through these Db2 innovations, we're making it easier than ever for developers to get involved with this rich environment and create innovative apps that propel their businesses."

Additional Db2 Enhancements

    --  Db2 on Cloud - this new version of Db2 on Cloud is a fully managed
        service, available on the IBM Cloud. Among the service's new features is
        a sliding scale for compute power and capacity. With the simple scroll
        of a mouse, users can slide the scale to increase or decrease the
        processing power, and associated necessary RAM, instantly. Users can
        also scroll to increase storage capacity. Eliminated is the laborious
        process of requesting and procuring more computing resources from IT.
        The new Db2 on Cloud complements IBM's Db2 Hosted, a version of the
        database that is hosted on IBM Cloud for clients looking for greater
        control of the platform.
        --  A new easy-to-use web console has also been added to Db2 on Cloud
            that's designed to help clients get acclimated and up and running
            faster.

    --  JSON Support - IBM announced that Db2 now supports JSON, the
        open-standard file format that uses "human-readable" language to
        transmit data objects. JSON, typically used by new applications, can now
        be integrated into Db2's relational database system, giving users an
        easy way to store application data. Developers can now use their
        existing SQL skills to store, manage, and select JSON data from within
        Db2. This reduces the need to learn special purpose data stores and
        provides the opportunity to bring mobile and web engagement data into
        analytic warehouses for greater user insights. Db2 optimizes retrieval
        of JSON data with index support, improving query performance.

    --  In addition, IBM is extending Db2 with Hybrid Transactional / Analytical
        Processing (HTAP) with the rollout of a technical preview of BLU
        Acceleration in-memory secondary index support. IBM Db2's use of the BLU
        Acceleration engine for HTAP avoids the standard practice of replicating
        data, decreasing memory requirements and latency versus rival databases.
        Secondary indices will dramatically improve performance of some queries
        for operational data store and analytic warehouses, as well as OLTP and
        HTAP workloads. With today's release, early access program customers can
        begin testing Db2's initial capabilities with their application
        development environment.
        --  DB2 Analytics Accelerator for z/OS has also been enhanced with
            Hybrid Transactional and Analytics Processing (HTAP) capabilities
            that provide improved real-time processing and simplicity for
            applications by removing the need to manage latency in the data
            replication process.

    --  Db2 on Cloud Benchmark - IBM published a new benchmark test today that
        demonstrates better overall performance and double the
        performance/dollar over the leading cloud database competitor, Amazon
        Aurora.

About IBM
For more about IBM Analytics visit www.ibm.com/analytics.

Contact
Mike Zimmerman
IBM Media Relations
mrzimmerman@us.ibm.com
(585) 698-9974

SOURCE IBM

SOURCE: IBM