IBM Information Management System
Read the product brief Explore product documentation
a person typing on a laptop, holding a credit card

Drive growth in your enterprise with IMS as the transactional catalyst

IBM Information Management System (IMS) is a hierarchical database and information management system that supports transaction processing. It is available on z/OS.

IMS is a database-driven, secure, integrated platform for high-performance online transaction and data processing that delivers on the security, flexibility, and scalability of IBM zSystems™ that's critical to support your business. 

IMS is at the forefront of your enterprise, hosting applications that can process billions of transactions per day while providing the capabilities to extend the functionality of existing applications by linking them to modern tools and emerging technologies.

IMS 15 enhancements

Explore the new IMS functions that are provided as part of the IMS continuous delivery process.

Benefits Maintain message integrity

IMS applications can process billions of transactions per day, while restart and recoverability facilities ensure that no data is lost, and every record is accounted for.

Enhance security

IMS coupled with IBM zSystems data and security technologies help safeguard your enterprise with tools that were designed to allow you to securely build, run, and manage your applications. 

Increase flexibility

Modernize your cloud by utilizing languages like Java™ and leveraging today's hybrid cloud methodologies in conjunction with IBM z/OS® Connect to make IMS data and transactions easily accessible. 

Get hybrid cloud ready

Automate IMS with open-source tools and Ansible® for faster, simpler deployment. Streamline your DevOps pipeline with cloud ready APIs that seamlessly integrate to drive agility and efficiency.

IMS Transaction Manager features The application platform that can support your path to hybrid cloud with open-source tools that enable modernization and automation capabilities to drive growth in your enterprise. Learn how to amplify your enterprise with IMS Modernize applications with Java

Modernize IMS with Java applications and SQL access running inside or outside IMS. Reduce time, MIPs, and stress with cloud-hosted development and testing.

IMS solutions for Java development
Java interoperability with COBOL or PL/I

Leverage Java interoperability with COBOL or PL/I to accelerate application modernization. Extend existing IMS COBOL or PL/I applications with Java.

Read the COBOL Java interoperability blog Read the PL/I Java interoperability blog
Java 11 support

Develop IMS Java applications including COBOL interoperability with 64-bit support as well as using Java 11 with the IMS TM resource adapter and Universal Driver across distributed and z/OS environments.

Read the blog
Automated DevOps

Deploy applications faster by automating your DevOps pipeline to drive agility and efficiency with Ansible.

Explore Ansible Get Ansible IMS collection updates
Flexible deployment

Extend your applications with IMS TM’s highthroughput to efficiently access and process your transactions, no matter where your data resides.

API access to IMS

Enable IMS data to be easily accessible from any cloud application without additional code.

Explore z/OS Connect
Data systems centric

Benefit from the IMS DB and IMS TM interoperability to integrate with other technologies to customize to your enterprise and drive growth.

IBM Z Security and Compliance Center

Use IMS coupled with IBM Z Security and Compliance Center running on IBM z16™ to streamline compliance workflow and remove ambiguity from audits.

Read the blog Explore IBM Z Security and Compliance Center
IMS Connect send-only with error protocol

Quickly diagnose the root cause of transaction failures with the ability to view return codes sent from IMS Connect for failed transactions that used the send-only protocol.

Read the blog
IMS Connect ALTPCB Output enhancement

Migrate applications off a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) to a modern TCP/IP architecture without making application changes.

Read the blog
IMS Database Manager features IMS DB securely stores, manages, and processes your most critical data with confidence. Rediscover why enterprises trust IMS DB to manage their critical data Pure data integrity

Robust lock management and extensive logging ensure that IMS provides uncompromised integrity, and that every record is accounted for, and no data is lost or inadvertently deleted.

Explore Internal Resource Lock Manager
Open access to IMS data

Access IMS database easily from any distributed or cloud application using API or SQL.

Explore IMS SQL Explore API access to IMS data
Enhanced DDL utilities

Leverage DDL utilities to manage your database on z/OS directly regardless of the databases current state.

Explore using DDL to define databases and program views
Optimized performance and reliability

Leverage hierarchical databases which reduce processing overhead, streamline query processing and enable high availability, storage, speed and low-cost solutions. 

Read the blog
Pervasive encryption

Enable IBM Z pervasive encryption with z/OS data set encryption of IMS data with minimal CPU overhead and no application changes.

Read more about data set encryption Get started with pervasive encryption
Data management flexibility

With the removal of IMS proprietary tasks, you can access IMS data through a standard SQL approach, which provides greater flexibility in data management.

Explore DDL for IMS Explore an easier way to submit IMS DDL
Reduce talent gaps

Integrate cloud-native tools and technologies with IMS subsystems using APIs and database administration tasks which help reduce talent gaps and enable access to more users.

Non-structural catalog changes without an outage

Enable users in an IMS managed application control block (ACB) environment to implement non-structural changes to the IMS catalog without an outage.

Catalog purge utility

Use the ability to purge non-active and non-pending instances from the catalog while IMS is online so there is no sacrifice to availability.

Product comparison

Turn trusted transactions into growth opportunities. IBM provides various pricing plans that give you the flexibility to choose what works best for your enterprise.

Product specifications

IMS

The traditional pairing of IMS Database Manager and IMS Transaction Manager offered as a monthly licensed system.

IMS Database Value Unit Edition (VUE)

Efficiently manage growth with this right-size IMS data server solution offered with one-time charge pricing.

IMS Transaction Manager Value Unit Edition (VUE)

IMS Transaction Management processing with a cost-effective way to manage business growth and new applications or workloads.

Pricing plan

Monthly licensed version

One-time charge price metric based on Value Units

One-time charge price metric based on Value Units

Flexible pricing

Qualified workloads

Qualified workloads

Continuous access to the latest features

Yes

Yes

Yes

Access to educational materials

Yes

Yes

Yes

World class personalized support

Yes

Sold separately

Software description support

Sold separately

Software description support

How much does IMS cost?

Monthly license charges (MLC) apply to many IBM Z software products, including IMS.  Pricing and terms and conditions for MLC products are based on the pricing metric you select. MLC pricing metrics can roughly be grouped into two categories: full capacity based pricing metrics and sub-capacity capable pricing metrics.

Can we use one-time charge pricing for one product and the monthly license charge for the other?

No. Both components of IMS must use the same pricing metric. They can either both be MLC or both be OTC.

For example: if you use both IMS Database Manager and IMS Transaction Manager, you cannot use the one-time charge (OTC) pricing metric for one and the monthly license charge (MLC) pricing metric for the other.

Technical details
Software requirements

IMS 15 requires the following minimum version, release or modification levels (as long as those versions remain available and supported by IBM):

  • IBM z/OS and IBM Z® systems processor
  • Java™
  • IRLM
  • IBM Db2®, IBM CICS®, IBM WebSphere® MQ and IBM WebSphere Application Server
  • COBOL
Hardware requirements

IMS 15 runs only in z/Architecture® mode on an IBM System z10® processor or higher.

The IBM zSystems platform running IMS remains our strategic choice because it is the most secure and reliable platform that we know of, and because it offers exceptional performance for our core banking systems. With Java in IMS, we have the best of both worlds Pascal Meyer, Senior Enterprise Architect, Atruvia AG Read the case study
Resources Application modernization with Java

Explore how IMS provides support for developing applications using the Java programming language.

IMS solution adoption kits

Access articles, videos, blogs and sample code to help you in your application modernization journey.

IBM IMS Data Solution guide

Read about a new approach to analytics for IBM IMS data.

IMS GitHub

Explore IMS sample code and tutorials for your IMS application development and deployment needs.

Java in IMS

Watch a demo of how to create an end-to-end JDBC application.

IMS Transaction Manager Resource Adapter

Get comprehensive information about the IMS Transaction Manager (TM) Resource Adapter.

IMS Enterprise Suite

Get information about download packages for software tools including IBM Explorer for z/OS Aqua, Zowe Integration and more.

IBM z/OS Connect and IMS Performance Evaluation

Read the full IBM z/OS Connect and IMS Performance Evaluation. (1.5 MB)

IMS Performance Evaluation on IBM z16

Take a deeper dive into the performance and workload data analysis. (4.7 MB)

IMS courses on IBM Training

Choose from instructor-led or self-paced courses and earn a digital badge.

IMS introductory series

Just getting started with IMS? Watch these short introductory videos on IMS TM, IMS DB and application development.

Related products IMS Enterprise Suite

Leverage open integration technologies for IMS.

Red Hat® Ansible Certified Content for IBM Z

Connect IMS to your wider enterprise automation strategy.

IBM z/OS Connect

Unlock the value of your favorite z/OS subsystem.

Take the next step

Get started with IBM Information Management System. Explore how IMS can transform your enterprise and support your hybrid cloud deployment strategy.

Join the community
More ways to explore Documentation Support IMS Central Resources Community Join IMS Gold Explore IMS Tools