For Cloud Database Management Systems, IBM announced that Gartner has positioned IBM as a Leader in its newly released 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant.

And to help companies modernize the management of both structured and unstructured data across hybrid cloud environments, the firm examined IBM's range of database management solutions, including IBM Db2 on Cloud, which features AI-powered capabilities.  

The report for the first edition of the Magic Quadrant for Cloud Database Management Systems read, "However, we can say that the DBMS market's shift in focus toward the cloud has opened up many opportunities for DBMS vendors to innovate, especially for public and private clouds and, in some cases, hybrid clouds. This focus also creates opportunities for end-user organizations either to migrate to the cloud or to use the cloud as a platform for new applications."

"Any AI project will be accelerated or stymied by the breadth, depth and accessibility of trusted data," said Daniel Hernandez, General Manager, Data and AI, IBM. "With Db2 and its availability within Cloud Pak for Data, we deliver what our clients need to put data to work with AI. And it's great to see Gartner recognize our vision and execution in this market."

"We've been utilizing Db2 Warehouse on Cloud to enable greater analysis and deeper insights into how we promote and schedule our programming and reach potential viewers on a variety of platforms for the past few years," said Vitaly Tsivin, Executive Vice President of Business Intelligence for AMC Networks. "The ability for us to run the integrated analytics of Db2 across our expansive landscape of public and private clouds has enabled us to bring Machine Learning to many more areas of our business."

In the report, IBM's integration of Db2 within Cloud Pak for Data was identified as a strength. "With its own cloud platform, IBM is aggressively pursuing a portfolio of partner offerings as rich as those of other Leaders, such as AWS, Microsoft and Google," the report read. "In addition, its hybrid, governed Cloud Pak for Data is designed to give customers choice by enabling them to deploy IBM's offerings on those vendors' platforms as well. Its bold move to acquire Red Hat also reflects a focus on game-changing moves."

Gartner also noted IBM's integration of AI and hybrid cloud capabilities in Db2 Cloud. "IBM Db2 on Cloud augments traditional transactions, with in-database machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) running on its engine," the report read. "Db2 on Cloud acknowledges multimodel trends with support for graph and spatial analytics, and offers mature, built-in workload management for automatic management of job scheduling and concurrency. Additional offerings from IBM and other vendors expand the possibilities for specialized requirements."