IBM aims to meld Db2 with machine learning, data science workflows
IBM plans to bring some data science to its Db2 database.
Big Blue's Db2 11.5 upgrade adds drivers to artificial intelligence languages as well as natural language queries and visualizations.
For IBM, the move to meld the database with data science workflows makes sense. IBM's Db2 trails rival databases from Oracle and Microsoft as well as open source alternatives like MySQL and PostgreSQL, according to Statistica.
Source: Statistica
G2 Crowd's database rankings also put Db2 lower in the standings, but competitive. It's also worth noting that G2's data includes customer rankings for Amazon Web Services databases and other cloud tools.
With that backdrop and IBM's data science efforts, it's not surprising that Db2 would get new integrations for machine learning and artificial intelligence.
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Db2 version 11.5 features a series of new drivers for multiple open source programming languages and frameworks. The idea is that developers can build machine models into applications via Db2. In addition, Db2 integrates Jupyter Notebooks.
Features and integrations include:
- Support for Go, Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, Node.js, Sequelize.
- Framework support for Jupyter and Visual Studio Code.
- Augmented Data Explorer, a natural language querying tool built to resemble a traditional search engine.
- Data Virtualization to search across multiple diverse data sources.
- Blockchain support.
- A common SQL engine that can access all IBM Db2 offerings as well as Oracle, Teradata, Microsoft SQL Server and cloud databases such as Amazon Redshift.
Meanwhile, IBM said Db2 11.5 has a shared code base with three editions: Db2, Db2 Standard and Db2 Advanced. Db2 is a trial download for developers with a single application to prototype and test. Db2 Standard is for mid-sized businesses and production workloads and Db2 Advanced is for mid- to large enterprises and delivered via the IBM Hybrid Data Management Platform. Existing Db2 licenses can convert to Db2 version 11.5.