Update on the IBM DB2 “SQL Skin” for Migrating from Sybase ASE
Last year, I wrote about how IBM DB2 adds “SQL Skin for Sybase ASE” to Ease Database Migrations. I have been lucky enough to hear from some of the luminaries involved in the SQL Skin, so I thought I would take a few moments to follow up on that blog post.
Don Haderle is known to many as the “father of DB2″. After being Chief Architect for DB2, we went on to achieve the status of IBM Fellow as well as CTO of IBM Information Management. In 2005, Don retired from IBM. He now acts as advisor to several companies, including ANTs Software who partner with IBM to offer the SQL Skin. When asked to recap what the DB2 SQL Skin is, Don describes it as “a building-block technology that seamlessly integrates enterprise applications with the overwhelming amount of data living in legacy data silos. It lets the CIO standardize on the DB2 platform, employ a top notch team of DB2 experts, and eliminate the need to pay for niche expertise or expensive database upgrades.” He goes on to say that “it is revolutionary to be able to consolidate vast amounts of data onto fewer and larger database servers. IBM DB2 SQL Skin for Sybase ASE makes it possible for the forward thinking CIO to coordinate all existing data and offer an overview of business drivers that helps the organization focus on innovating and competing in the marketplace.”
In the past, Sybase had a lot of traction with financial services companies. But now a lot of those companies are re-evaluating their options for their Sybase deployments. Warren Lucas was a much-respected Sales Executive at IBM for 32 years, covering the territory that included Wall Street. He is now also a trusted advisor to ANTs Software. When asked about how the SQL Skin is doing in the marketplace, Warren says that “Wall Street has embraced Sybase ASE in many legacy applications” and goes on to point out that traditionally “many organizations have been afraid of standardizing on an innovative DBMS, like DB2, due to the cost of migration.” Of course, he doesn’t need to add that DB2′s SQL Skin for Sybase ASE helps both lower the cost of migration and reduce the risk associated with migration. When asked if he can tell us about any real world experience with this feature, Warren says that “a large financial services company is already using DB2 SQL Skin for Sybase ASE to consolidate resources, eliminating long migration cycles and months of application rewrites to create a private cloud built on DB2. With this enabling technology, the financial firm will be enable to consolidate their data silos and provide a 360 degree view of their enterprise data store.”
Joe Kozak—the CEO of ANTs Software—adds that “one of SQL Skin’s beta customers, BJC Healthcare, is using the product to migrate two proprietary applications running Sybase over to DB2. Within weeks, and with virtually no changes, BJC will be able to streamline their organization, lower their database license and maintenance costs, and eliminate the need for any Sybase DBA support.”
Thanks Don, Warren, and Joe for the quick update. Its great to hear the good news. You can keep up-to-date on developments with the SQL Skin on Joe Kozak’s Blog.
Mr. O’Mahony, If the product is so great then why isn’t anyone buying it? They have had beta testers now for over three years and they have what…four clients. You mention BJC Healthcare; they gave an account of their migration at the IBM expo in Las Vegas but you speak in the future tense when discussing their ACS deployment. Ants has not even confirmed that they are a client, or I should say, paying client.
michael johnson
February 16, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Hi Michael,
This product feature became available about nine months ago (last May).
Unfortunately, IBM does not report deal counts or revenues at this level.
To tell you the truth, I am not sure how many customers there are. Please note that, often, customers refuse to give permission to vendors to talk publicly about transactions (even if the references are anonymous). They do this for a variety of reasons, including in some cases concerns over vendor relationships if they still maintain some instances of that vendor’s software in another part of their organization.
Of course, a good investigator could check the ANTs revenues and stockholder communications to try to figure out what is happening. It would involve guesswork, given the variable nature of deal sizes. It would also involve figuring out what other revenue streams they have and subtracting those. But, given relative trends in revenue, you could get a feel for uptake.
As regards BJC Healthcare, the quote is not mine
Perhaps you can ask on Joe’s blog…
Regards,
Conor.
Conor O'Mahony
February 16, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Thanks Mr. O’Mahony for your reply. Unfortunately Ants’ management does not communicate with shareholders so it is vertually impossible to get any information. Ants has announced a few customers; the west coast utility, the European research hospital, the financial institution. Ants’ only revenue source is Inventa, which has not experienced any real revenue growth since Ants acquired them, so I agree, it is not difficult to determine what ACS brings in. I have been a shareholder in Ants for a long time. Anyway, thanks again for your reply. MCJ
michael johnson
February 16, 2011 at 5:11 pm
What do you think about this technology ?
abdallah
February 16, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Mr. O’Mahoney, abdallah asks a good question; what do you personally think of the ACS? Based upon what you said in your article it seems you don’t have any first hand information about the product or any personal opinion. For anyone who follows Ants Software closely your comments are just a rehash of what has been said previously. I would be very interested in your current opinion and not a recapitulation of what is a very old commentary. Thanks. MCJ
Michael johnson
February 19, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Well, I can tell you what I think about the technology, but I think the more important question is regarding the business value it provides.
At first, I was cautious about taking this approach, because it is based on emulation. I wanted some real world customer proof points before making my mind up. When I saw the results of initial customer tests, I was pleasantly surprised. They certainly exceeded my expectations.
I’m fairly conservative by nature, and my assessment at this stage would be… so far, so good. The technology has proven itself in several environments to the extent that organizations are willing to move important workloads onto this technology. That should not be underestimated. And this technology has the backing of IBM, who does not make endorsements like these lightly.
Now regarding the business value of this solution, that’s where this really shines. Customers can use this technology to 1) significantly lower their costs, and 2) move onto a more strategic database software platform. When you combine these factors, it makes for fairly compelling business value. And that is what matters to these customers. The technology is not the primary consideration. The business value is.
Again, my overall assessment is… so far, so good. When you look at this within the context of a mature, multi-billion dollar database business at IBM, it has successfully navigated the first few hurdles. Where it goes from here, well that is the question…
Conor O'Mahony
February 23, 2011 at 10:15 am
Based on your Tech experience, do you think this technology/company is valuable enough to be acquired by the likes of IBM?
Hutton
March 9, 2011 at 4:47 pm
As you might imagine, given my current role at IBM and our relationship with ANTs, it is not appropriate for me to answer this question.
Conor O'Mahony
March 9, 2011 at 5:07 pm