IBM Corp. has launched version 7 of its DB2 Universal database aimed at companies ranging from dot-com startups to Fortune 500 heavyweights, according to IBM. The key difference in version 7 is the product’s level of integration of core database functionality, content management and business intelligence features, XML (Extensible Markup Language) support and ability to handle spatial data types, according to IBM. These include: wide availability of high bandwidth at low cost; pervasive computing; rich media content; and deep computing, or the ability to solve very complex problems. DB2 version 7 includes data warehousing and OLAP (online analytical processing) capabilities as well as in-memory technology, which can speed up Internet searches by a factor of 10, according to IBM. Version 7 is immediately available for the AIX, Solaris, HP-UX and Linux variants of Unix, as well as Windows NT, Windows 2000 and OS/2. The product costs US$498 for the Personal edition; $1,349 for the Workgroup edition, $23,760 for the Enterprise edition and $30,510 for the Enterprise-Extended edition, offered on a per-processor pricing basis. Also included in the new version is a free downloadable migration kit that will make it easier to move to DB2 from database rivals, like Oracle Corp., Informix Corp., Sybase Inc., and Microsoft Corp.’s SQL Server. IBM, in Armonk, N.Y., can be reached at http://www.ibm.com/.
Prices listed are in US currency.
