Alation Named Top Vendor in End-User Study of the Data Catalog Market for Fifth Consecutive Year

Dresner Advisory Services’ 2021 Wisdom of Crowds® Data Catalog Market Study finds a strong link between data catalogs and successful BI usage

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alation Inc., the leader in enterprise data intelligence, today announced it had been named the top-ranked data cataloging solution in Dresner Advisory Services' 2021 Wisdom of Crowds® Data Catalog Market Study for the fifth consecutive year. In rating the vendors, Dresner considered all data catalog, collaborative, and governance features as reported by suppliers and weighted by users. Alation received the highest overall rating in the 2021 study.

The study explores the strong link between data catalogs and successful Business Intelligence (BI) usage. It found a strong correlation between the level of difficulty in finding and locating analytic content and successful BI. According to the survey respondents, the harder it is for BI users/use cases to find and access content, the higher the likelihood that BI initiatives will not be successful.

This year’s report underpins the importance of data catalogs as they enable collaboration, such as data search & discovery, and governance capabilities. In the study, 53% of respondents indicated that analytic consumers and use cases have difficulty locating and accessing relevant analytic content, illustrating that data catalogs are critical for data search & discovery and data democratization. More than 91% of respondents indicated that governing and sharing data is critical, very important, or important, showcasing the struggle between balancing data governance and data democratization. The data catalog puts governance and collaboration capabilities directly into the day-to-day workflows of business users to accelerate strategic decision-making.

“Data catalogs stand out as an area of growth that organizations rank as important to their BI and analytics projects because the complexity of data continues to increase,” said Howard Dresner, Chief Research Officer, Dresner Advisory Services LLC. “Congratulations to Alation for their continued performance as the leading vendor, with the highest overall rating in our 2021 study.”

“Since inception, Alation has dominated the data catalog market. Data catalogs are critical to delivering successful BI initiatives because organizations must be able to search & discover properly governed data,” said Satyen Sangani, CEO and co-founder, Alation. "Once again, it is an honor to be recognized by Dresner Advisory Services and to empower leading global brands such as Cisco, Munich Re, Pfizer, and Travelers Insurance, to find, trust, and govern data.”

Wisdom of Crowds® research is based on data collected on usage and deployment trends, products, and vendors. As with all of its Wisdom of Crowds® Market Studies, Dresner constructed a survey instrument to collect data and used social media and crowdsourcing techniques to recruit participants.

Learn More:

• Download a complimentary copy of Dresner Advisory Services’ 2021 Wisdom of Crowds® Data Catalog Market Study from Alation.
• Read our latest blog, Alation Scoops Gold for 5th Straight Year in Dresner’s Wisdom of Crowds Report

About Dresner Advisory Services

Dresner Advisory Services was formed by Howard Dresner, an independent analyst, author, lecturer, and business adviser. Dresner Advisory Services, LLC focuses on creating and sharing thought leadership for Business Intelligence (BI) and related areas.

About Alation

Alation is the leader in enterprise data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, data stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation. Alation’s initial offering dominates the data catalog market. Thanks to its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation combines machine learning with human insight to successfully tackle even the most demanding challenges in data and metadata management. More than 250 enterprises drive data culture, improve decision making, and realize business outcomes with Alation, including AbbVie, American Family Insurance, Cisco, Exelon, Finnair, Munich Re, New Balance, Pfizer, Scandinavian Airlines, and US Foods. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Alation was named to Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces list and is backed by leading venture capitalists including Blackstone, Costanoa, Data Collective, Dell Technologies, Icon, ISAI Cap, Riverwood, Salesforce, Sanabil, Sapphire and Snowflake Ventures. For more information, visit alation.com.