Tackling AI’s data challenges with IBM databases on AWS

Businesses face significant hurdles when preparing data for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The existence of data silos and duplication, alongside apprehensions regarding data quality, presents a multifaceted environment for organizations to manage.  

Also, traditional database management tasks, including backups, upgrades and routine maintenance drain valuable time and resources, hindering innovation. While these challenges are not new, they emphasize the need for a flexible, cloud-native infrastructure. Such infrastructure should not only address these issues but also scale according to the demands of AI workloads, thereby enhancing business outcomes. 

The solution: IBM databases on AWS 

To solve for these challenges, IBM’s portfolio of SaaS database solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS), enables enterprises to scale applications, analytics and AI across the hybrid cloud landscape. This involves unifying and sharing a single copy of data and metadata across IBM® watsonx.data™, IBM® Db2®, IBM® Db2® Warehouse and IBM® Netezza®, using native integrations and supporting open formats, all without the need for migration or recataloging.  
 
By using fit-for-purpose databases, customers can efficiently run workloads, using the appropriate engine at the optimal cost to optimize analytics for the best price-performance. Native integrations with IBM’s data fabric architecture on AWS establish a trusted data foundation, facilitating the acceleration and scaling of AI across the hybrid cloud. This is supported by automated lineage, governance and reproducibility of data, helping to ensure seamless operations and reliability.  

IBM and AWS have partnered to accelerate customers’ cloud-based data modernization strategies. By using decades of database expertise in performance by IBM and combining it with AWS’s scalability, security and governance features, customers can achieve enhanced flexibility, agility and cost efficiency in the cloud.  
 
For existing IBM on-premises database customers, transitioning to AWS is seamless, offering risk-free, like-for-like upgrades. This approach enables customers to modernize their infrastructure at their own pace. Furthermore, integration between AWS and IBM products and services amplifies the value of IBM investments by complementing them with AWS offerings.  

Redefining cloud database innovation: IBM and AWS 

In late 2023, IBM and AWS jointly announced the general availability of Amazon relational database service (RDS) for Db2. This service streamlines data management for AI workloads across hybrid cloud environments and facilitates the scaling of Db2 databases on AWS with minimal effort. Also, IBM Consulting® and AWS have collaborated to help mutual clients to operationalize and derive value from their data for generative AI (gen AI) use cases.  

These strategic initiatives aid companies in preparing their data for the next generation of applications, analytics and AI workloads that will drive the modern economy. IBM and AWS are redefining cloud database innovation, simplifying the modernization process and empowering organizations to fully harness the potential of their data. Let’s delve into the database portfolio from IBM available on AWS.  

Amazon RDS for Db2 

IBM Db2 helps to ensure the security, performance and resilience of your data, regardless of transaction volume or complexity. With Amazon RDS for Db2, you can easily set up, operate and scale Db2 deployments in the AWS cloud. This fully managed relational database service combines the simplicity and availability of the Amazon RDS service and Db2’s expertise in running mission-critical database workloads worldwide. 
 
Build global experiences with features such as cross-region disaster recovery, multi-availability zones and extreme resiliency. It helps to ensure the secure encryption of your data in transit and at rest by using AWS Key Management Service and support for compliance programs like HIPAA and FedRAMP. Native integrations with IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS and IBM watsonx.data SaaS on AWS allows customers to seamlessly combine Db2 transactional data with their data in Db2 Warehouse and watsonx.data, enabling new insights and the deployment of analytics and AI workloads with trusted Db2 data.  
 
The offering integrates with essential AWS services such as Amazon Key Management System, Amazon Identity Access Management, Amazon CloudWatch, AWS Database Migration Service and Amazon S3. IBM certifies a set of products that function with the managed service, including IBM® Cognos® Analytics, IBM Sterling® Order Management and IBM® OpenPages®. More certifications are forthcoming. On-premises Db2 customers can easily begin using Amazon RDS for Db2 in just a few clicks, paying only for their usage, without any upfront fees or long-term commitments. 

 Request a live demo or start a proof of concept with Amazon RDS for Db2 

Db2 Warehouse SaaS on AWS 

The cloud-native Db2 Warehouse fulfills your price and performance objectives for mission-critical operational analytics, business intelligence (BI) and mixed workloads. It enables secure data sharing for analytics and AI across your ecosystem.  

The next generation of Db2 Warehouse on AWS achieves 4x faster performance and reduces storage costs by 34x through advanced caching techniques and multi-tiered storage options, with native support for cloud object storage.  
 
Db2 Warehouse fully supports open formats such as Parquet, Avro, ORC and Iceberg table format to share data and extract new insights across teams without duplication or additional extract, transform, load (ETL). It seamlessly integrates with Amazon RDS for Db2, watsonx.data SaaS, and other IBM and AWS services like IBM data fabric, Amazon S3, Amazon EMR and AWS Glue. This allows you to scale all analytics and AI workloads across the enterprise with trusted data.  
 
For existing Db2 Warehouse software or Integrated Analytics Appliance (IIAS) appliance customers, applications deployed on-premises can run seamlessly and unchanged in the cloud on AWS, maintaining full workload compatibility. With Db2 Warehouse’s fully managed cloud deployment on AWS, enjoy no overhead, indexing, or tuning and automated maintenance. 

Try Db2 Warehouse SaaS on AWS for free  

Netezza SaaS on AWS 

IBM® Netezza® Performance Server is a cloud-native data warehouse designed to operationalize deep analytics, data mining and BI by unifying, accessing and scaling all types of data across the hybrid cloud. Netezza incorporates in-database analytics and machine learning (ML), governance, security and patented massively parallel processing.  
 
With newfound support for open formats such as Parquet and Apache Iceberg, Netezza enables data engineers, data scientists and data analysts to share data and run complex workloads without duplicating or performing additional ETL. Netezza uses AI-infused granular elastic scaling that helps to ensure efficiency and cost predictability of workloads at the enterprise scale.  
 
Integrate seamlessly with watsonx.data SaaS and other IBM and AWS services like IBM data fabric, Amazon S3, Amazon EMR, AWS Glue and more to scale analytics and AI workloads across the enterprise. Existing Netezza appliance customers can upgrade risk-free, facilitating modernization to hybrid cloud deployments at their own pace. Benefit from Netezza’s fully managed cloud deployment on AWS, eliminating overhead, indexing, tuning and providing automated maintenance. 

 Try Netezza Saas on AWS for free  

watsonx.data SaaS on AWS 

IBM watsonx.data is a fit-for-purpose data store, built on an open data lakehouse architecture to scale AI workloads across all your data sources, regardless of their location. Simplify your data landscape by accessing and sharing a single copy of data throughout your organization, thus reducing the need for ETL processes and data duplication. 
 
With watsonx.data, customers can optimize price performance by selecting the most suitable open query engine for their specific workload needs. Whether it’s for ad hoc analytics, data transformation, data sharing, data lake modernization or ML and gen AI, you have the flexibility to choose. Also, customers can seamlessly integrate all their data with the AI models or applications of their choice, helping to ensure data governance, lineage and reproducibility. Our integrated vectorized embedding capabilities, currently in technology preview, prepare your data for retrieval augment generation (RAG) or other ML and gen AI use cases.   
 
Unlock competitive advantages with accelerated data insights through an AI-powered conversational interface, with no SQL expertise required. Seamlessly integrate watsonx.data with IBM and AWS services like IBM data fabric, Amazon S3, Amazon EMR and AWS Glue to scale analytics and AI workloads across your enterprise. 

 Try watsonx.data on AWS for free  

Why are customers choosing to modernize with IBM databases on AWS? 

1. Fully managed: Focus on your applications, analytics and AI while AWS handles the rest. IBM databases are fully managed on AWS, allowing customers to delegate operations to AWS, available 24x7x365. Automate administrative tasks, such as migration, provisioning, backup, restore, software patching and more. 
2. Integrated solutions for zero-ETL data preparation: IBM databases on AWS offer integrated solutions that eliminate the need for ETL processes in data preparation for AI. This integration simplifies data management and accelerates the preparation process, directly benefiting clients. 
3. 100% workload compatibility: IBM helps to ensure like-for-like compatibility for existing workloads in the cloud. This compatibility dramatically reduces the total cost of ownership by minimizing costs and risks associated with database migrations and expensive, lengthy service engagements. 
4. Ultimate flexibility across hybrid cloud environments: IBM offers unmatched flexibility in deployment models, including SaaS on AWS. This flexibility is crucial for businesses aiming to maintain agility in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. 
5. Innovations in data lakehouse technology: The data lakehouse from IBM, watsonx.data, combines proprietary innovations with the best of open source. This results in unique advantages, such as query performance optimizations, built-in governance, workload management and multi-engine support, all available on AWS.  
6. End-to-end analytics and AI platform: IBM offers a comprehensive analytics and AI platform on AWS, covering databases, data fabric and data consumers. This end-to-end approach significantly reduces time-to-value, facilitating the deployment and management of production workloads. 

Customer success stories 

Profile Centevo reduces infrastructure costs by 4X with Amazon RDS for Db2 and transforms banking in the Nordics with cloud-native applications

Adopting Db2 on Amazon RDS, Profile Centevo modernized and managed its critical Db2-based asset management applications. This move significantly increased transaction handling capabilities while helping to ensure high availability and security. The cloud-native infrastructure of RDS enabled seamless scalability, supporting thousands of users daily without compromising performance or reliability. By using the fully managed RDS service, the company reduced infrastructure costs by 4x compared to self-managing their Db2 database and applications on-premises.  

Conestoga Wood Specialties achieves rapid growth with Netezza on AWS and zero-downtime of applications

Turning to Netezza on AWS, Conestoga Wood Specialties, a leader in custom cabinet doors and wood cabinet components, transformed their data analytics and management systems to prepare for new AI use cases that optimize their customer service experience. Netezza and Cognos now process over 5,200 reports daily, providing decision support for leadership across the business. With Netezza support for 1.2 terabytes of data and 10,000 daily queries, Netezza can scale up Conestoga’s business infrastructure as needed. This acceleration has enabled faster decision-making and a more agile response to market demands, showcasing the profound impact of modernizing data infrastructure with IBM solutions on AWS. They are now moving in the direction of governance and metadata along the lines of a lakehouse, with watsonx.data and Netezza on AWS integration.  

Get started with IBM databases on AWS 

IBM databases on AWS offer businesses a transformative opportunity to scale their AI and analytics capabilities. By choosing Db2 on Amazon RDS, Db2 Warehouse, Netezza and watsonx.data SaaS on AWS Marketplace, organizations can streamline data management, increase flexibility and improve business outcomes. Start modernizing your data infrastructure by trying and purchasing IBM solutions directly from IBM and the AWS Marketplace.  

Checkout IBM databases on AWS