Db2 EOS Support: Keep Using the Software You Have

Db2 EOS support doesn’t have to be complicated. See how TPSM can help.

IBM® Db2 is one of the longest-serving and best-known examples of commercial database software. Large enterprises with long-tailed software histories tend to have deep implementations because many early adopters have found little need to change anything beyond versions over the years – it’s been a standard-bearer for close to half a century, making competent Db2 EOS support a good friend to have as your IT roadmap evolves.

Db2 EOS support comes in many shapes

Despite the software’s many strengths, the ongoing move to cloud has proven tricky for companies with mature Db2 implementations on their hands. Some companies understand a migration or modernization might soon be a business necessity, yet find their goals countered by workloads that don’t easily translate to the new medium. In other cases, companies are forced by regulation or other external factors to migrate at a rapid cadence, even though the infrastructure is held in place by tricky interdependencies they need more time to account for.

Simply put, not all Db2 implementations are suited for a speedy move to the next step.

Some may need to be maintained many years into the future, as a matter of fact. But the world keeps on moving, pushing businesses to update or migrate when other IBM® and HCL® software support options are available.

Newer implementations face similar pressures. While the OEM does offer specialized support offerings for select Db2 products, the presumed outcomes and timelines might not suit all customers who are overall happy with their current Db2 implementations, leaving little room for those who want to see what comes next before potentially overcommitting to the cloud.

Common Db2 support issues

Db2 is prolific as a product family, encompassing numerous operating systems/platforms and practically endless deployment options. Sometimes it’s purchased as a primary piece of infrastructure. Other times, software in the family might be packed in free as part of a larger software purchase. Just as every business has a different use for a database, every private- and public-sector organization’s relationship with the software is different.

Because of this, issues with the software tend to come with contextual setbacks and considerations that make simple resolution a challenge. For example, the following common IT speedbumps become a lot harder to diagnose and solve when there’s a highly interdependent database sitting in the middle.

Performance issues. What happens when important queries start taking minutes or hours to come back instead of seconds? And which software is ultimately responsible? Getting to the bottom of questions like these gets tricky fast without reliable Db2 EOS support.

Maintenance setbacks. Maintaining a mature Db2 implementation tends to require more specialized skills as the software evolves in its space. Over time, something as small as a backup can pose major challenges at ground level.

Server component and application optimization. When interoperability challenges arise, solving the issue might require technical and licensing expertise across multiple platforms, vendor products, and work systems – not just the problematic software itself.

Businesses have historically updated versions or migrated when concerns like these become too difficult to manage internally.

But Db2 EOS support doesn’t have to stop at the vendor’s definition, and often you can keep using what you have.

Third-party software maintenance (TPSM) provides another way to keep your complex Db2 implementation stable, secure, and compliant, with the uptime your company requires.

Here’s what TPSM can do for your Db2 implementation

When companies want to keep using the software they have, they turn to third-party software maintenance (TPSM) providers to maintain the product and provide advice that greatly clarifies roadmap planning and modernization efforts.

With the Db2 product family, that often means bringing an expert eye to performance and availability issues that tend to spring up later in the lifecycle. Interdependency is a natural outcome of any database’s presence in corporate IT estates. For many businesses, a TPSM provider’s ongoing accessibility and acute product knowledge are all it takes to resolve major issues that might otherwise require an update or accelerated cloud migration just to get things working again.

TPSM providers are also a strong choice when configuration challenges make forward motion difficult. In many cases, fixable configuration missteps made early in the implementation can create issues that – while small so small you might not notice them at first – compound into performance and uptime concerns. A TPSM provider with the right skills can address these problems at the database, app, and server, and, where needed, mainframe layer, ensuring nobody’s stuck holding the bag in a confusing configuration error.

Likewise, when a company lacks access to certain IBM® Fix Packs for more mature software implementations, stakeholders may feel updating the version to gain access is the only way to protect against IBM® software security and performance concerns.

In reality, many pressing security, performance, and uptime concerns can be addressed without that level of intervention.

A competent TPSM provider can keep you moving your same software estate into the future at significantly less cost than support renewal or the substantial risks of going it alone. With 30% to 50% more to spend on innovation – freed up from the overhead costs of managing legacy software – you have more time to create the roadmap exactly the way your company sees fit and more funding to plan it.

Get a recognized Db2 expert on your side. Reach out for a 30-minute consultation – free.