As enterprises rapidly scale their AI strategies, many are rethinking whether legacy database platforms can support the next generation of AI applications. IBM is helping organizations modernize Oracle workloads with Db2 by combining groundbreaking AI innovations with a disruptive Bring Your Own Price model that addresses the growing demand for data architectures capable of powering generative AI workloads at a fraction of traditional operational costs.

Legacy databases like Oracle increasingly present customers with the triple threat of skyrocketing licensing fees, vendor lock-in, and data architectures ill-equipped for modern, agentic workflow requirements.

To address these challenges, IBM has made substantial engineering investments in hybrid cloud, AI and quantum, yielding a multi-cloud, quantum-safe, agentic-autonomous database that fundamentally reshapes how enterprise data is stored and leveraged in the age of quantum and AI.

Modernizing enterprise databases is no longer simply about replacing infrastructure. It is about building the trusted, AI-ready data foundation organizations need to support intelligent applications, accelerate innovation, and prepare for the next generation of enterprise computing.

A revolutionary new database

IBM's new revolutionary Db2 database delivers the key advancements that are fast becoming mandatory in the era of agentic AI, quantum and cloud.

• Cloud-native: Db2 customers run our flagship database on every cloud provider and in every corner of the globe, across IBM Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and more. No matter which cloud provider you choose, the same world-class Db2 database is available for you to deploy, helping you eliminate cloud vendor lock-in and making it easy to keep your applications portable. Unlike the Oracle Cloud option which runs on expensive, proprietary Exadata appliances, Db2 runs on commodity, cloud-native compute and storage, leading to significantly better economics and a native, cloud-integrated user experience.

• Agentic AI-autonomous: The all-new Db2 Genius Hub leverages a swarm of interconnected AI agents to power a new agentic-autonomous database experience for Db2. By automating mission-critical tasks, proactively scanning for and helping resolve operational anomalies, and empowering database admins to quickly do problem determination & resolution, Db2 customers experience a massive drop in database management costs, manual intervention, and time to resolution. Unlike Oracle’s “autonomous database,” which leverages the same technology that Db2 pioneered in the late 2000s, the new agentic-autonomous Db2 uses leading edge agentic AI and large language model (LLM) innovations to deliver substantial operational savings to the enterprise, whether they run their mission critical workloads on the public cloud or in fully air-gapped environments in their private cloud. 
   
• Quantum-safe: IBM developed the post-quantum encryption algorithms that are now standardized by NIST. Db2 brings those same quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms to protect and safeguard your most critical asset: your data. Powered by the new GSKit 9, Db2 embeds quantum protection for data in motion and at rest, providing an audit-ready, regulatory-compliant, quantum-safe deployment that provides peace of mind that, as quantum computers advance and become part of our everyday lives, your data is safe. Unlike Oracle, IBM is the clear and undisputed market leader in quantum, and Db2 customers directly benefit from IBM’s decades of research and multi-billion-dollar investments in quantum technology.

• Agentic AI-ready: Db2 has become an AI developer’s dream. An integrated vector store and search capability enables developers to run high-performance similarity searches and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) directly alongside your structured data. A seamless integration with large language models (LLMs) enables developers to embed AI without managing complex pipelines or data duplication. An expansive integration with open-source agentic AI frameworks, like LangChain and LlamaIndex, makes it easy for developers to build autonomous agents that securely interact with your data stored in Db2. And a new Db2 Serverless cloud offering makes it easy for developers and AI agents to deploy a cost-effective Db2 database in seconds, making it easy for development teams to quickly innovate with AI. Developers can then leverage IBM Data Replication to deliver the multi-source, real-time data that’s critical for AI agents to operate and deliver insights to your customers. These innovations combined make it easy for your business to innovate at breakneck speeds and quickly deliver differentiated value to your customers and the enterprise. 

How IBM’s investments in Db2 reflect a broader shift in enterprise computing 

Organizations can no longer build tomorrow's AI applications on data platforms designed for yesterday's requirements. They need a database that combines cloud-native deployment, autonomous operations, AI-ready development, quantum-safe security, and the flexibility to modernize without introducing additional complexity.

"Enterprise data architectures are reaching a critical tipping point. Businesses cannot build tomorrow's Agentic AI applications on top of yesterday's hyper-expensive, rigid database silos,” Priya Srinivasan, General Manager, IBM Software, explains. “IBM’s substantial investments in Db2, particularly native vector infrastructure, LLM integrations and the groundbreaking Genius Hub, have created an autonomous data platform that is fundamentally smarter and significantly more cost-effective than Oracle. We are so confident in the superiority of Db2 that IBM is eliminating the financial risk of switching entirely.”

That confidence is already reflected in customer modernization initiatives. As part of its modernization journey, a Global Automotive Manufacturer successfully migrated significant workloads to Db2.

"As part of our modernization journey, we successfully migrated significant workloads to Db2,” says the company's Director of Database Engineering 

“The enhancements in Db2 Bridge v1.1.5, particularly for data conversion and support of Oracle objects and database constructs, were instrumental in accelerating the transition.”

The continued evolution of Db2 Bridge demonstrates IBM's commitment to simplifying Oracle migrations while helping organizations preserve existing database constructs, reduce migration complexity, and accelerate modernization.

Removing the Barriers to Modernization

Modernizing enterprise databases has traditionally required organizations to overcome two significant obstacles: technical complexity and financial risk. IBM believes neither should stand in the way of innovation.

That is why IBM has introduced a new economic model designed to help organizations break free from Oracle and migrate to Db2 with greater confidence.

Reducing financial risk with a revolutionary new economic model

Our new economic model helps business break free from Oracle and switch to Db2. It's called Bring Your Own Price, and it's designed to eliminate the financial risks of switching from Oracle to Db2. It's also an expression of our confidence in Db2 and the value organizations will receive by modernizing their database infrastructure.

Here’s how it works- when organizations switch to Db2, the first six months are on us, completely free of charge. After those initial six months, the price organizations pay is determined by their budget priorities, implementation timelines, and the economic value they receive by switching to Db2. It is that simple.

Bring Your Own Price reflects IBM's confidence that organizations should evaluate Db2 based on the value it delivers rather than being constrained by the economics of traditional database licensing models.

Lowering technical risk by making Oracle migration simpler

Reducing financial barriers is only part of the modernization journey. IBM is also committed to simplifying the technical aspects of moving from Oracle to Db2.

To help make the switch a technical breeze, IBM is offering a no-cost migration assessment delivered by experienced Db2 Client Adoption Engineering specialists.

Working together with customers, these teams examine existing Oracle deployments and jointly formulate a migration strategy aligned with each organization's timelines, workloads and modernization objectives. Whether organizations are planning a phased migration or a broader enterprise transformation, IBM provides both the expertise and the technology needed to reduce migration complexity and accelerate time to value.

The continued enhancements in Db2 Bridge, including expanded support for Oracle objects and database constructs, further simplify the transition by helping organizations preserve existing investments while modernizing their data platform.

The Future of Oracle Modernization

Enterprise data architectures are entering a new era. As organizations prepare for the next generation of AI, choosing a database is no longer simply an infrastructure decision. It is a strategic decision about how quickly they can innovate, how securely they can manage data, and how economically they can scale. IBM is helping organizations make that transition with Db2 by combining cloud-native architecture, agentic-autonomous capabilities, quantum-safe security, a simplified migration experience, and the new Bring Your Own Price economic model. Backed by six months at no cost, no-cost migration assessments, and the expertise of Db2 Client Adoption Engineering, IBM is helping organizations remove the financial and technical barriers that have traditionally delayed database modernization. The result is a practical, lower-risk path to building the trusted, AI-ready data foundation organizations need to support the next generation of enterprise applications.

Get Started

To get started, visit ibm.com/db2 and click on "Book a Meeting" to connect with IBM!