Across the data integration landscape, many vendors are making the same strategic move: shedding their on-premises connectors to focus almost exclusively on cloud-to-cloud sources.
For organizations running data on established enterprise systems, that trend creates a serious blind spot. Critical operational data in IBM systems (data that runs ERPs, finance, and supply chains) often gets left behind.
Where others narrow their connector portfolios, CData keeps expanding. Our customers depend on both established systems and modern cloud platforms, and CData Sync supports the full picture. Sync is a hybrid data replication platform that enables continuous, secure data movement across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments. Sync supports Change Data Capture (CDC) for hundreds of data sources, allowing enterprises to replicate changes in near real time to any modern destination.
Now, fueled by customer demand, Sync supports CDC for IBM DB2 iSeries (AS400). This enhancement builds existing CDC coverage for DB2 on z/OS and DB2 on Linux, Unix, and Windows (LUW), giving organizations complete replication capabilities across the IBM database family.
The ongoing role of IBM databases in modern enterprises
Despite the rise of cloud platforms, IBM databases continue to anchor some of the world’s most important workloads.
DB2 for z/OS powers high-volume transaction systems in banking, insurance, and government.
DB2 for LUW remains embedded across manufacturing, public sector, and telecom environments.
DB2 iSeries (AS400) supports midrange ERP and operational systems that form the backbone of manufacturing, logistics, and distribution networks.
These databases are anything but obsolete. The challenge is ensuring their data can participate in modern analytics and AI ecosystems without compromising production stability.
Why CDC changes the way DB2 is used
Traditional extraction methods like nightly bulk jobs still play an important role in many architectures. They are efficient for moving large volumes of information at predictable intervals and often align well with established reporting cycles. But they aren’t designed to support every requirement, especially when teams need more timely data or want to reduce the operational impact of full-table movement.
CDC addresses those problems by continuously tracking inserts, updates, and deletes at the source. Sync replicates those changes as they occur, so downstream systems always reflect current business activity.
This type of near real-time access has become essential in the age of AI. Enterprises building intelligent applications and machine learning models need complete, current data that represents their full business context. On-premise databases like iSeries and z/OS hold decades of operational history that make those insights accurate and explainable.
Journal-based CDC for DB2 iSeries
Sync’s CDC for DB2 iSeries, uses IBM i’s native journaling mechanism. Journals record every change to a database for auditing and recovery, creating an exact record of what has happened and when. Sync reads directly from those journals, eliminating the need for intrusive triggers or full-table scans.
Key benefits include:
Reliability – Built on IBM’s own journaling framework, ensuring transactional accuracy
Performance – Minimal impact on production workloads, even during high transaction volume
Continuity – Journals guarantee no change is missed, even during system restarts or outages
This journal-based design aligns perfectly with the way enterprises already trust IBM iSeries to manage their most critical data.
A complete CDC framework for IBM data
With CDC for DB2 on iSeries, LUW, and z/OS, CData Sync supports data movement across every major IBM database platform. Organizations can replicate data from mainframe, midrange, and distributed IBM systems into destinations such as Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, SQL Server and more using a single, consistent tool.
Sync’s investment in IBM databases complements its ongoing coverage for other long-standing enterprise systems, including Oracle and IBM Informix. Many organizations continue to depend on these environments, and Sync ensures that their data can move securely into modern platforms without disruptive migrations.
Expanding coverage while others contract
Where competitors are reducing connector portfolios and limiting on-prem support, CData continues to expand. The reason is straightforward: the most consequential data problems haven’t been solved yet. Many organizations can’t retire systems like DB2, but they can modernize how that data flows into the analytics, AI, and reporting tools that drive new initiatives.
CData Sync bridges that gap to bring near real-time, governed data replication to the systems that still matter most.
Key takeaways
Complete IBM coverage: CData Sync now delivers CDC across DB2 for i (AS/400), DB2 for LUW, and DB2 for z/OS—one consistent platform for all IBM environments
Journal-based precision: The new DB2 for i connector captures changes directly from IBM i journals for reliable, low-impact replication
Modernization without disruption: Sync helps organizations extend the value of their IBM systems by making critical data continuously available for analytics, AI, and reporting
Learn more in the DB2 for iSeries documentation, or start a free 30-day trial to see how Sync delivers complete, secure, and flexible CDC across all IBM environments.
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