Portfolio
IBMs strategy, a four-pronged approach
Source: Computing Canada Published: Sep 1989
While IBM wants a strong, independent software product community, it would prefer that that community not offer alternative database management system (DBMS) products. IBM would like to be your (only) supplier for DBMS software.
This goal is already a fact of life on the AS/400. Although on the PS/2 platform the data manager (OS/2 Extended Edition) is separately priced, IBM’s marketing goal is pretty clear from the name.
In the 370 line IBM has been careful to not talk about a bundling of DB2. However, it is likely that as the next generation hardware series is delivered and IBM’s architecture develops over the 1990s that DB2 will evolve into a common subsystem with MVS, ultimately to be installed by most customers using large IBM mainframes.
This does not necessarily mean that the market for alternative database managers on large mainframes will go away. In fact, over the 1990s the DBMS choice for most companies will become more tactical than strategic.
Emergence of SQL as a standard database access language for all DBMS vendors will allow more portability of applications over different DBMSs. Most large shops then are likely to have several DBMS products in the 1990s with DB2 being one of them.
by George Schussel
