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Many enterprises are turning to data intelligence solutions as the answer to data democratization, enabling the delivery of self-service access to data with guided discovery and natural language search, according to a new research report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Data Intelligence, produced by ISG Software Research (formerly Ventana Research), says that by 2027, three-quarters of enterprises will be engaged in data intelligence initiatives to facilitate and understand data production and consumption across their organizations.

ISG defines data intelligence as a layer in the stack above data platforms that combines related functionality, including data and application integration, data catalog, data quality, data lineage, metadata management and master data management. It also includes AnalyticOps, used to deliver agile and collaborative analytics that enable self-service access to data.

“Self-service access to data is only truly valuable if users can trust the data,” said Matt Aslett, director of Research, Analytics and Data, for ISG Software Research. “Enterprises need to ensure that business users and data analysts can find the data they need, understand what it means and trust that it is valid, current and can be relied upon in business decision-making.”

Removing barriers that prevent or delay users from gaining access to data enables it to be treated as a product—internally by employees or externally by partners and customers, the report says. ISG forecasts that six in 10 enterprises will adopt technologies in the next three years to deliver data as a product. This will require companies to adapt their cultural and organizational approaches to data ownership through the concept of data mesh, which dictates that those that generate the data own the data and are responsible for making it available.

“While data democratization facilitates access to data, it is not a free-for-all,” Aslett notes. “In addition to core data and data catalog functionality, it requires data lineage and data quality capabilities as well as contextual understanding of the data, such as its criticality and whether it is subject to regulatory requirements.”

For its 2024 Buyers Guides for Data Intelligence, ISG evaluated software providers across six platform categories—Application Integration, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data Intelligence, Master Data Management and Data Quality—and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. 

A total of 43 providers were assessed in their respective categories: Actian, Alation, Alibaba Cloud, Alteryx, Ataccama, Atlan, AWS, Boomi, Celigo, Cleo, Cloud Software Group, Collibra, Confluent, Databricks, Denodo, Experian, Fivetran, Frends, Google Cloud, Hitachi Vantara, Huawei Cloud, IBM, informatica, Jitterbit, Matillion, Melissa Data, Microsoft, Oracle, Precisely, Qlik, Quest Software, Reltio, Rocket Software, Salesforce, SAP, SAS Institute, SnapLogic, Solace, Stibo Systems, Syndigo, Syniti, Tray.ai and Workato.

Among these, only IBM, Informatica, and Oracle were assessed in all six categories.

ISG Software Research designates the top three software providers as Leaders in each category. For the 2024 study, the leading providers in ranked order are:

Application Integration: Oracle, SAP and Informatica

Data Governance: Informatica, IBM and Microsoft

Data Integration: Informatica, Microsoft and Oracle

Data Intelligence: Informatica, IBM and SAP

Data Quality: Informatica, IBM and Oracle

Master Data Management: Informatica, IBM and Oracle

“The way for any organization, anywhere to gain competitive advantage and improve efficiency is to improve its ability to make fast, impactful decisions driven mainly by the data it cultivates,” said Mark Smith, partner of Software Research at ISG. “Ironically, too many organizations lack the knowledge or skill to determine how best to leverage their own data in their decision-making processes.”

The ISG Buyers Guides™ are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides ™ for Data Intelligence and read executive summaries of each of the six reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research.

About ISG Software Research

ISG Software Research, previously Ventana Research, provides authoritative market research and coverage of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its on-demand service provides structured education and advisory support through subject-matter experts. ISG Buyers Guides support the RFI/RFP process and help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessment services and the ISG Software Research Value Index methodology. Visit www.ventanaresearch.com for more information and to sign up for free community membership.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI and automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.