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  • Visual Data Exploration Comes To Db2 Web Query

    October 18, 2017 Alex Woodie

    The IBM i server isn’t known as an analytics powerhouse — transaction processing is more its thing. But with the latest release of Db2 WebQuery for i, customers are getting visualization capabilities that will let them explore their data in powerful new ways.

    IBM announced Db2 Web Query for i version 2.2.1 on October 3 as part of its Technology Refreshes (TRs) for IBM i 7.2 and 7.3. While the release number would seem to indicate a minor update, the improvements are actually quite substantial, says Robert Bestgen, IBM’s product development manager for Db2 Web Query.

    “We kind of moved into a new realm in the analytics space,” Bestgen tells IT Jungle. “We’re pretty excited about it. We’ve been looking forward to this for about two years now.”

    The excitement stems primarily from new data visualization features that allow Db2 Web Query to present data on the screen using a series of graphical elements, like pie charts and scatter plots, as opposed to reports full of tables and numbers. In addition to seeing data depicted visually, users can visually interact with the graphical elements in real time, thereby enabling them to explore their data and “zoom in” as they see fit, Bestgen says.

    IBM is giving Db2 WebQuery for i powerful new data visualization capabilities.

    “It took us from, ‘I know what I want, I’m just going to build a report’ to the next level, which is ‘I’m not exactly sure what my angle is. I want to explore the data and determine what’s out there,'” Bestgen says.

    The data visualization features should make it easier for users to spot trends and anomalies that may be tough to spot from a screen full of numbers, Bestgen says. This will be a useful way for analysts to discover new facts from their data without consuming a lot of time and resources from IT professionals and programmers, he says.

    “If the user sees a bump in returns for a given month, for example, they can drill down and try to get the ‘what happened’ perspective, which is harder to do if you have a canned report,” Bestgen says. “If you saw something you wanted to drill into it [with previous versions], you would have to take the time to build a new report, and by then you’ve lost your train of thought. This helps you stay in your train of thought.”

    It’s all about making data analytics more approachable for the average user, he says. “You can walk up to the data, in effect, and say, ‘I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for. I want to start exploring data,'” Bestgen says. “I want to look for trends. I know what I generally want. I want to find things that stand out. I want to find places where I can help the company.”

    The new release of Db2 WebQuery for i also brings new mapping features.

    Data visualization has become a mainstay of business intelligence and reporting tools over the past few years. Tableau Software is widely credited with making data visualization a product category in its own right over the past decade, and now many BI and analytics tool providers are following suit.

    Db2 WebQuery is an OEM version of Information Builders‘ flagship BI and analytics tool. Data visualization has been available in the Information Builders product for a while, and now it’s making its way into IBM’s product.

    Version 2.2.1 also brings new mapping capabilities thanks to a partnership between Info Builders and Esri, the respected developer of digital map and geographic information system (GIS) software. The mapping data, which is accurate down to the Zip Code level, is included with the product, and users can get more from Esri if they want.

    Big Blue also updated a companion product that provides ETL capabilities for data warehousing environments. The version 2.2.1 release of Db2 Web Query DataMigrator gains new transformations, new features for making data flow comments on the developer palette, regular expression support for filtering, and improved scheduling.

    IBM sells two versions of the product, including an Express version that costs about $2,800 per core and the full version that costs about $15,000 per core. The new release of Db2 WebQuery for i ships December 8.

    RELATED STORIES

    DB2 Web Query For i Now Supports External Databases

    IBM Unveils ETL Solution for DB2 Web Query

    Big Blue Slashes DB2 Web Query Prices–Again

    IBM Updates DB2 Web Query

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    Tags: Tags: DB2, Db2 WebQuery for i, IBM i

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    UCG Technologies – Vault400

    Do the Math When Looking at IBM i Hosting for Cost Savings

    COVID-19 has accelerated certain business trends that were already gaining strength prior to the start of the pandemic. E-commerce, telehealth, and video conferencing are some of the most obvious examples. One example that may not be as obvious to the general public but has a profound impact on business is the shift in strategy of IBM i infrastructure from traditional, on-premises environments to some form of remote configuration. These remote configurations and all of their variations are broadly referred to in the community as IBM i hosting.

    “Hosting” in this context can mean different things to different people, and in general, hosting refers to one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, hosting can refer to a client owned machine that is housed in a co-location facility (commonly called a co-lo for short) where the data center provides traditional system administrator services, relieving the client of administrative and operational responsibilities. In the second scenario, hosting can refer to an MSP owned machine in which partition resources are provided to the client in an on-demand capacity. This scenario allows the client to completely outsource all aspects of Power Systems hardware and the IBM i operating system and database.

    The scenario that is best for each business depends on a number of factors and is largely up for debate. In most cases, pursuing hosting purely as a cost saving strategy is a dead end. Furthermore, when you consider all of the costs associated with maintaining and IBM i environment, it is typically not a cost-effective option for the small to midsize market. The most cost-effective approach for these organizations is often a combination of a client owned and maintained system (either on-prem or in a co-lo) with cloud backup and disaster-recovery-as-a-service. Only in some cases of larger enterprise companies can a hosting strategy start to become a potentially cost-effective option.

    However, cost savings is just one part of the story. As IBM i expertise becomes scarce and IT resources run tight, the only option for some firms may be to pursue hosting in some capacity. Whatever the driving force for pursing hosting may be, the key point is that it is not just simply an option for running your workload in a different location. There are many details to consider and it is to the best interest of the client to work with an experienced MSP in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each option. As COVID-19 rolls on, time will tell if IBM i hosting strategies will follow the other strong business trends of the pandemic.

    When we say do the math in the title above, it literally means that you need to do the math for your particular scenario. It is not about us doing the math for you, making a case for either staying on premises or for moving to the cloud. There is not one answer, but just different levels of cost to be reckoned which yield different answers. Most IBM i shops have fairly static workloads, at least measured against the larger mix of stuff on the public clouds of the world. How do you measure the value of controlling your own IT fate? That will only be fully recognized at the moment when it is sorely missed the most.

    CONTINUE READING ARTICLE

    Please visit ucgtechnologies.com/IBM-POWER9-systems for more information.

    800.211.8798 | info@ucgtechnologies.com

    Article featured in IT Jungle on April 5, 2021

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TFH Volume: 27 Issue: 68

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Table of Contents

  • Continuous Improvement: Within Reach, Without Fear
  • Visual Data Exploration Comes To Db2 Web Query
  • Why Setting IT Priorities Is So Important
  • Four Hundred Monitor, October 18
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 19, Number 41

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