DB2 sucks

Not really, of course.... But I figured every time this blog posting appears in a google search, someone else's doesn't.

Stephen O'Grady at RedMonk linked to this post about one user's attempts to install a trial version of IBM's DB2.

It's worth reading in its entirety. He begins by describing in excruciating - and depressing - detail the problems he hit when he tried to get a trial download of the product to install on his UNIX box.

The thing that struck me was that it was yet another example of how a user's first experience of a product or service is of paramount importance. In my time at IBM I've been impressed at how far the development teams have come in this area. In my area of specialism, the installers for products like WebSphere MQ are fabulous. You immediately feel confident that the install will be easy and that you will do it right.

Posts like this one, however, remind me that one should never get complacent... there will always be an issue you didn't forsee. So it's gratifying that there was such a great support structure in place for him to turn to. I've worked with DB2 product support in the past on various client problems and have also been impressed by their abilities.... nice to see them get some recognition.

It's a pity that a couple of (actually very minor) gotchas made the experience harder than it should have been but I'm glad he took the time to get resolution and, importantly, to share that for others to benefit from.


[UPDATE 2006-05-24 11:20] A colleague (thanks Axel!) has pointed me to this detailed article on some of the cool stuff in DB2 8.2.