Table of Contents
- Summary
- Key Criteria Comparison
- GigaOm Radar
- Vendor Insights
- Analyst’s Take
- Methodology
- About Andrew Brust
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
In today’s technology environment, many organizations find themselves trying to analyze data dispersed across numerous, disparate sources, including databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and enterprise applications. It is hard, if not impossible, to coordinate and document the work being performed across these widespread sources without a centralized access point from which to connect, manage, and view the data. Additionally, the variety and heterogeneity of data creates data management challenges of its own. Enter the data catalog, which addresses each of these challenges, as well as others, including compliance with data protection regulations.
Data catalogs have become much more than their forbear metadata repositories and data dictionaries. Within the industry, improved prerequisite functionality and core standards have emerged and stabilized, while vendors continue to add capabilities and improve upon the baseline. Beyond these changes in the tech itself, the vendor ecosystem is dynamic as well. This market scenario involves new vendors coming on the scene, as well as mergers and acquisitions that have caused vendors to exit. And this isn’t just corporate trivia, as such transactions can force customer migrations to new solutions and can also buttress existing platforms with improved or new capabilities.
With so many features and options available, it can be difficult to assess existing offerings and finalize a data catalog purchase decision. The compliance mandates of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) add urgency to the decision as well. To evaluate and select which platform best meets your organization’s needs successfully and in a timely manner, it is crucial to have both a broad understanding of core data catalog technology and features and to acquaint yourself with the particulars of the vendors and their offerings.
This GigaOm Radar report is designed to be your key resource in making that decision. We will provide an overview of data catalog capabilities, including those that are commonplace and those that stand out. We will analyze the top data catalog offerings in the market, recognize the ones that excel in particular aspects, weigh the table stakes, key criteria, and evaluation metrics used to assess these solutions, and identify important features and technologies to keep an eye on in the future. Whether you are looking to extend an existing investment or have yet to invest in a data catalog solution, this report will prepare you to select and implement the right data catalog platform for your needs.
How to Read this Report
This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding consider reviewing the following reports:
Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.
GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.
Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.