In a surprising move, IBM just pulled the plug on Db2 Web Query for i. They posted a brief announcement letter on their site that states, “Effective October 10, 2023, IBM® withdraws from marketing all IBM Db2® Web Query products, including the capability to order or renew Software Maintenance.”
So…what now? I know of many businesses that have significant investments in this product. They probably feel blindsided. It’s like the rug was pulled out from under them.
If you’re in this position…what are you doing? Will you continue using the product without support or upgrades? Or, will you look for alternatives? While IBM states that there is “no direct replacement for IBM Db2 Web Query for i”, there are certainly other options.
One of the best alternatives: m-Power. I’m not just saying that because it’s our software product. I’m saying that for a few huge reasons:
- m-Power does everything (and more) that Web Query does: m-Power easily handles reporting, BI, and dashboarding. It includes ETL and data warehousing. It includes all the security you need to ensure that users can only view their data. You can deliver reports automatically, schedule them to run at certain times, or even set up secure reporting portals. I truly believe that m-Power will improve your reporting.
- We come from the IBM ecosystem: While m-Power works over any relational database today, we opened for business back in 1981 with a focus on the IBM System/38. We were there when the AS/400 was first announced, and have been there through all of the IBM product releases (and name changes). In other words, moving to m-Power is a seamless experience for those in the IBM ecosystem. It’s in our roots.
- m-Power is so much more than reporting: Sure, m-Power can handle all of the reporting, BI, analytics, and dashboarding you currently do in Web Query. But, it does so much more. It’s a full web application development platform. You can create anything from portals to CRM systems to database front-ends and everything in between. One of the most common things we hear from customers: “We bought m-Power for this one thing, and now we use it for everything!” If you have development projects you’ve been wanting to complete, or if you just want to speed up development, try m-Power.
If you’d like to learn more about m-Power and how it can replace Db2 Web Query for you, check out this page. If you’d like to get a glimpse of m-Power’s reporting features, here’s a short video to check out.