BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs Foglight for Databases comparison

BMC and Quest Software are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. BMC is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.0, while Quest Software is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. BMC holds a 0.6% mindshare in DDM, compared to Quest Software’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

BMC Data Management for IMS...

Read 2 BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS reviews

493 Views
59 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Foglight for Databases

Read 14 Foglight for Databases reviews

1,842 Views
1,824 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

BMC Data Management for IMS...

Foglight for Databases

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS and Foglight for Databases compete in data management and monitoring. BMC is favored for pricing and support, while Foglight is recognized for robust features, making it appealing for its price.

Features: BMC Data Management optimizes capabilities and integrates with mainframe environments, enhancing performance. It excels in data integrity and efficient management. Foglight offers comprehensive monitoring across platforms, providing detailed insights and alerts. It supports various databases, ensuring flexibility and adaptability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BMC integrates seamlessly within zOS environments, catering to enterprise needs. Its support model aligns with large-scale operations. Foglight provides a flexible deployment model, easily adapting across systems. It maintains strong customer support, underscoring its user-friendly approach.

Pricing and ROI: BMC involves higher initial costs but offers robust ROI through data integrity and efficiency. Foglight has lower setup costs, delivering ROI via actionable insights and reduced downtime, presenting an attractive alternative for various organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

BMC Data Management for IMS...

Ranking in Database Development and Management

22nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Foglight for Databases

Ranking in Database Development and Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Foglight for Databases is 7.6%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

RobertSamson

Technical Consultant at Services Robert Samson SCRS

Improves disaster recovery processes and offers an efficient CPU cycle optimization

Using BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS has greatly improved our database administration tasks. Although we don't test the database before production, we have experienced benefits in disaster recovery situations and capacity management. For instance, when facing capacity issues during peak transaction times, I've been able to quickly allocate additional resources to ensure smooth operations. This has been crucial, especially during times when the demand surges, such as peak flight hours.

Read full review

Stuart Dairiki

Senior IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees

Empowers efficient database monitoring and performance troubleshooting with powerful workload analysis

I find it extremely helpful to use Foglight to triage any database issues, specifically performance issues using what Foglight calls PI investigator. It is a very powerful workload analysis tool that helps me understand where bottlenecks are. It allows me to see performance issues as end users report them. It can save time and effort when doing root cause analysis. It enables me to obtain information quicker and easier compared to manually compiling it. Foglight provides us with a near-real-time activity database. It's not 100% real-time. It has less than a minute latency. It allows us to see performance issues as end-users report them. We started seeing benefits pretty much immediately. We use Foglight to display intensive databases. However, it's not something we monitor regularly. It's only something we kind of dig into as we troubleshoot and triage issues. It does help us determine potential IT help issues. When we use Foglight, we find it helps drill down holistically into potential bottlenecks. It helps us to see what is going on in the database. Foglight allows us to monitor multiple database platforms. We use, for example, Oracle, SQL Server, Postgres, Amazon Redshift, and SAP HANA. It gives us insight into our entire landscape of production workloads in near real-time. The solution saves costs when performing root cause analysis. It can save time and effort when doing root cause analysis. It allows us to obtain information quicker and easier than by manually compiling information.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I have worked with DB2's great features in the last five years. The IDAA feature transformed the vision of warehousing, business analytics, and big data at my bank. Besides the mainframe, I saw that this solution was evolutionary. It gives real-time information."

"BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it."

"The PI module allows [my colleague] to identify which new indexes or modified indexes are going to make the biggest impact."

"The real-time activity screens are also helpful... if there is something that is running slowly, we can eliminate the database as being an issue and perhaps look at the server, network activity, or something outside of the realm of the database as being the issue."

"We can visualize all the different types of DB servers that we are monitoring in a single pane of glass. It uses a 360-degree overview of the database, for each of those databases that we are monitoring. That includes what kind of resource utilization is happening and what kind of DB parameters are getting monitored, as well as the different types of DB parameters that are being offered for each database type."

"It can save time and effort when doing root cause analysis. It enables me to obtain information quicker and easier compared to manually compiling it."

"What I really like is the SQL PI feature, which allows us to drill down into queries and identify what is causing contention in the database. Using the SQL PI feature, I am able to drill down into the queries, see what is blocking, and try to improve it."

"The ability to monitor multiple database platforms streamlines our database operations. The single pane of glass is what we were really after when we picked Foglight. We knew we wanted something that could monitor cross-platform because it does save a lot of time to use the same tool. The one thing that I like with Foglight is that we don't have to install anything locally, like agents, directly on the database servers. That was also a big seller because it simplifies things."

"The alarms alert proactively if there are any potential or ongoing issues with the databases that we support. That means we can take preventive or corrective action before the issue becomes a big issue. And the SQL PI features enable us to drill down into performance issues in our databases so that we can improve performance, which is important."

"The platform is very stable."

More Foglight for Databases pros

Cons

"DB2 is a hard tool to grasp. It's hard for users to learn how to use it. It's not easy to see how it works."

"One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution."

"I get a lot of alerts that, while important, are not critical. Then I have to dig in and figure out how to turn alerts off, but not the logging. I want to be able to go back, once we get the other big issues out of the way, and start fine-tuning some of those other areas, but I don't necessarily want to receive an email for all of them."

"The system is not that stable. We have been facing a lot of issues. We built a new store environment of Foglight, an environment for monitoring the Lowe's store servers, which are all Db2 servers. The objective is to monitor 800 Db2 servers in each Foglight instance. Up to 150 Db2 servers, the environment was working fine. The moment it crossed 150 or 160, we started having a lot of stability issues."

"When holding data for two years for 20 SQL Servers, the reporting becomes sluggish and unresponsive."

"One thing that I would like, and it's probably something that I could set up internally, is something other than a dashboard which I have to look at to know that a server is down. I'd like bells and whistles to go off... If I look at the dashboard I know there's a server down. But if I'm not looking at it, if I'm looking at some other problem, I want to know about it. You can do that, you can use SMSs and alerts to your phone, and I could set it up to handle that, but it would be nice if, out-of-the-box, Foglight did that."

"It would be amazing if they could enable the "Performance Investigator" functionality across all database platforms."

"I would like the rule development code to be made available so we don't always have to be referred to professional services for custom solutions. For example, if we want to exclude certain databases from a particular rule, we shouldn't have to go to support and to professional services for that solution. If the code and syntax were available, we have resources that could quickly turn something like that around."

"It would be amazing if they could enable the 'Performance Investigator' functionality across all database platforms."

"The data model needs improvement when it comes to creating custom reports. That is an area where it needs a bit of improvement. Foglight gathers a lot of information around our databases as part of its monitoring. While I know all this information is in there, trying to pull the metric we want out for custom reports is sometimes hard to find. One nice thing about Foglight is that you can create custom dashboards, which you can easily convert to reports. We would be doing a lot more of that if it weren't for the challenging data model."

More Foglight for Databases cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The price of Foglight could be a little more competitive in Chile, and it should be lowered for long-time customers— at least by 20 percent. Sometimes the price is a limitation. We have seven instances and nearly 5 million users. If Quest Foglight could reduce its prices for the clients that have been with it for a long time, we would be able to have more instances."

"Pricing is very reasonable. We were able to construct a pretty easy contract with Quest, who were very easy to work with and very amenable to what we are trying to do. It worked out well for us."

"The price is worth it, if you have the time to go through the information."

"It is cost-effective. With our EA, it is really based on the scale of our database environment. We found the Quest team to be reasonable and flexible when it comes to pricing and scaling of licenses."

"This is like the "Cadillac" of performance monitoring software. It's not cheap... I am currently with a company that I was able to convince that the product is worth the cost."

"Compared to the other tools on the market, Foglight is okay in terms of pricing and licensing."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Development and Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

BMC Data Management improved our data recovery process by simplifying it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

One area for improvement with this product could be in providing clearer guidance and tools for disaster recovery planning and execution. As someone involved in managing infrastructure, understandi...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS?

From my perspective as an infrastructure guy, the most valuable aspect of BMC's data management solutions was their ability to optimize CPU cycles, improving IMS performance without directly impact...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Foglight for Databases?

The pricing is palatable. We've already done one renewal and we are in our second contract. We're happy thus far.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Quest Foglight for Databases?

It would be amazing if they could enable the "Performance Investigator" functionality across all database platforms. I've been talking to their product development team about enhancements that I wo...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Quest Foglight for Databases?

I primarily use the solution for database monitoring, specifically for Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Postgres, SAP HANA, and AWS Redshift.

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP Data Services vs BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS

Compared 100% of the time

More BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS Competitors

Spotlight vs Foglight for Databases

Compared 36% of the time

SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer vs Foglight for Databases

Compared 26% of the time

Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials vs Foglight for Databases

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Enterprise Manager vs Foglight for Databases

Compared 8% of the time

SQL Sentry vs Foglight for Databases

Compared 7% of the time

More Foglight for Databases Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Development and Management

July 2025

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS report

Download BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Foglight for Databases

August 2025

Download Foglight for Databases product report

Also Known As

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS, Data Management for IMS and DB2 on z/OS

No data available

Overview

Transform the management of your DB2 databases to meet the scale and complexity of digital business

Run DB2 utilities with BMC Next Generation Technology to optimize your data and improve application performance
Eliminate downtime and increase availability of business services
Ensure the integrity of structured and unstructured data
Take control with intelligent automation and policy-driven rules
Bridge the gap from green-screen to modern, secure, self-service user interfaces
Move to DB2 12 and beyond with confidence

BMC

Foglight for Databases offers comprehensive monitoring with real-time activity screens and adaptive baselines. It provides a 360-degree overview and efficient UI, requiring no custom scripts, aiding in proactive issue identification and resolution before impacting end users.

Foglight for Databases is a robust tool for monitoring across multiple platforms, including SQL and Oracle. It provides features like the "Morning Coffee" dashboard and SQL Performance Investigator, enabling effective workload analysis and historical investigation. Despite some challenges with sluggish performance on large data volumes and excessive non-critical alerts, it remains a preferred choice for its ability to support proactive management and resource planning. Users appreciate its centralized view of extensive database systems, enabling swift detection and resolution of issues in real-time.

What are the key features?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Provides cross-platform real-time monitoring, ensuring effective database management.
Adaptive Baselines: Adjusts to various workloads, enhancing monitoring accuracy.
SQL Performance Investigator: Offers detailed workload analysis without server impact.
Proactive Alerts: Delivers timely notifications, aiding in immediate issue resolution.
Efficient UI: Streamlines user interaction, minimizing the need for custom scripts.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Time Saving: Reduces time in root cause analysis, enhancing productivity.
Proactive Management: Detects issues before they affect end users, minimizing downtime.
Resource Planning: Aids in effective allocation planning for enterprise and cloud platforms.

Foglight is extensively implemented in industries managing extensive database systems, handling numerous servers to ensure availability and performance. It assists businesses in resolving blocking and locking deadlocks, crucial for maintaining smooth operations in production and development environments.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Airline Tariff Publishing Co (ATPCO), AtTask, MetaScale

CommitDBA

Buyer's Guide

BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases

July 2025

Free Report: BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases

Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our BMC Data Management for IMS and DB2 on zOS vs. Foglight for Databases report.

See our list of best Database Development and Management vendors.

We monitor all Database Development and Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.