DB2 V9 for z/OS : how close to announcement ?

I don't know how long it's already on the IBM DB2 Website but it indicates that 'DB2 Version 9.1 for z/OS' is "coming soon". There's definitely more and more information to be found about it. The beta program announcement was issued on May 9,2006. There's a 29-page document on this beta program that also sheds some light on the innovations you'll find in DB2 V9. The document focuses on three innovation types : "those which provide insight for the business, those which provide cost savings, and those which improve business resiliency."
The most striking feature IMHO is the "new hybrid data server support for both relational and pure XML storage, with the necessary services to support both data structures".



As was already the case in DB2 V9 for Linux, Unix and Windows, XML data can now be stored in their native format as they are handled as a new data type. Both XML and relational data are under control of the same DB2 engine.
There's a very good introductory article on DB2 V9 in the latest DB2 magazine by Craig S. Mullins, a renowned authority on DB2 for years : DB2 9 for z/OS Roars to Life. By the way, Craig S. Mullins has his own blog on DB2 : DB2PORTAL Blog and an own site with lots of earlier articles on DB2.

As far as preriquisites and migration path are concerned : "Migration to V9 will be only from DB2 for z/OS Version 8 and will prereq z/OS 1.7 Some items will require z/OS 1.8."