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You can keep your existing IBM systems and introduce watsonx.data for selected data and analytics needs. That gives enterprises a way to move toward an open lakehouse while retaining the applications and reporting processes that already support the business.
For a CIO, the appeal is control over how much changes at once. Finance may need better access to information across business units, while operations depends on systems that cannot tolerate disruption. Modernization has to accommodate both. It also needs a financial case that accounts for the cost of adding a platform alongside the ones you already own.
watsonx.data is worth considering in that context. Its suitability depends on the systems you run and the business problem you want to solve.
Preserve existing IBM investments while expanding access to enterprise data
Years of investment in IBM include more than infrastructure. They include financial models, established reports and the knowledge people use to run them. An open lakehouse can extend how the business uses that data without requiring an immediate rebuild of everything around it.
The scope can be selective:
| Existing investment | Possible role alongside watsonx.data |
|---|---|
| Operational databases and applications | Continue running the business while making selected data available through supported connections. |
| IBM data warehouse | Retain reporting that meets business needs; assess other analysis for the lakehouse. |
| Reporting and planning tools | Preserve reports and models, with separate validation if their data sources change. |
| Data feeds and access controls | Retain suitable processes and extend ownership and permissions to the new environment. |
IBM supports Apache Iceberg in watsonx.data, an open table format that gives organizations more choice over tools that use their data. That flexibility still depends on compatible tools and catalogue access. Open formats reduce one source of vendor dependence; operating the platform creates other commitments worth assessing.
Connect Db2 and lakehouse data with clear limits on operational impact
IBM documents a Db2 and Iceberg example in which selected sales data moves into the lakehouse while other tables remain in Db2. A query combines both. The example uses watsonx.data on IBM Cloud and does not establish compatibility with every Db2 environment.
For an executive team, the significance is the scope of the decision: a new analytical use case can begin with a selected dataset rather than a commitment to move the entire database.
Consider a manufacturer assessing sales across several business units. Selected history could move into the lakehouse while operational records remain in Db2. The business could then evaluate whether the combined information improves its analysis before extending the project. This is an illustrative scenario, not a reported client result.
The operational trade-off needs an owner. Accessing data in Db2 still uses its resources. Copying data into the lakehouse requires a reliable update process, which also consumes resources. The project should establish acceptable effects on daily operations and how current the analytical data needs to be.
What should you modernize first in your IBM data environment?
Assess where a lakehouse could improve business reporting, which IBM systems to retain and what would justify the first investment.
Agree on the scope, cost and evidence needed before expanding.
Agree on the scope, cost and evidence needed before expanding.
Assess the lakehouse business case beyond storage and licensing costs
The investment case starts with a constraint the business can identify: delays in combining information from acquired companies, repeated manual preparation for management reporting, or warehouse capacity consumed by analysis that could run elsewhere.
watsonx.data may help address those needs, but savings need evidence. Include the cost of operating both environments, maintaining data feeds and supporting the people who use them. Define who will manage access and resolve conflicting figures when information spans several systems.
If the problem is a few slow reports or unreliable data feeds, improving the current platform may be the better investment. Existing IBM infrastructure makes watsonx.data relevant to the evaluation; it does not make adoption inevitable.
Fund a limited watsonx.data initiative before wider IBM modernization
The first funding decision can cover one business use case with an accountable sponsor. Agree what improvement would justify expansion, such as less time preparing a management report or faster access to consolidated sales information. Set a cost boundary and define which operational services must remain unaffected.
The delivery team can then validate connections, access and data accuracy within that scope. Retain the existing reporting path until the new one meets the agreed requirements. Leadership can use the results to decide whether to expand, revise the approach or stop.
Multishoring’s guide to planning a watsonx.data lakehouse covers the architecture choices behind that assessment.
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