The 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Solutions
Throughout the year, IT consulting firm Gartner releases their research and findings regarding a variety of market trends, in the form of Magic Quadrants. These reports highlight the top vendors in the field for different categories, along with their strengths and cautions, providing insights to key decision makers.
Just like others Magic Quadrants, the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Solutions has been eagerly anticipated by organizations and clients alike, shedding light on top innovators in the field and what we can anticipate in terms of new solutions in the coming year.
Given the fast innovation of technologies and expansion in market demands, Gartner changed the name of this Magic Quadrant this year from “Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Tools” to “Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Solutions.”
In previous years, this Magic Quadrant addressed the tools that typically offered effective data management capabilities, but Gartner acknowledged that efficient data quality practices require much more than just tools; companies rely on complete data quality solutions that support a variety of use-cases across different disciplines and industries. With this in mind, the research firm chose to reflect these changes in the vendors involved and criteria required.
Gartner defines data quality solutions as “the processes and technologies for identifying, understanding and correcting flaws in data that support effective data and analytics governance across operational business processes and decision making.”
As the market for data quality solutions continues to expand and closely integrate with offerings such as metadata management solutions, data integration tools, and master data management, data quality solutions vendors are being expected to:
Some solutions offered by these vendors include parsing, cleansing, profiling, standardization, enrichment, matching, and monitoring.
In order to qualify for inclusion in this quadrant, vendors must:
The Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Solutions is represented here:
(Source)
In order to fully utilize the results of the Data Quality Solutions Magic Quadrant, it’s necessary to understand each category:
With these category definitions in mind, below are the results comparing last year’s Magic Quadrant to this year’s final results.
| 2020 Results | 2019 Results | |
| Leaders | Informatica
IBM SAP SAS Talend Precisely |
Informatica
IBM SAP Talend Syncsort Oracle |
| Challengers | Oracle
Experian Innovative Systems |
Pitney Bowes
Experian |
| Visionaries | Ataccama
Information Builders MIOsoft Infogix |
Information Builders
Ataccama MIOsoft |
| Niche Players | Redpoint
Syniti Melissa Data |
RedPoint Global
Innovative Systems BackOffice Associates |
Although the three main vendors remained consistent in the Leaders Quadrant from 2019 to 2020, the rest of the category saw some new additions and dropouts.
Informatica once again commands the top spot, rightfully placed there due to their four data quality solutions and deep understanding of the market. Both its multidomain support and data profiling features are consistently ranked as best-in-class, and their superior ease-of-use contributes to their continued Leader position.
Customers do report that installing their solutions is very technical, and their prices are steep compared to competitors. These are some areas to be looking for changes in the coming years.
With IBM’s Watson Knowledge Catalog being released in June, it brought to the industry some of the most forward-thinking machine learning and AI technologies of any other similar products on the market. IBM’s deep understanding of needs and demands continues to solidify its position as a Leader, with its data quality solutions modernizing the platform and integrating data governance, data quality, and data consumption into one experience.
A few cautions to keep in mind, though, are IBM’s plans to migrate its existing InfoSphere Information Server customers to the Watson Knowledge Catalog, as well as its more difficult product installation process.
Rounding out the top three vendors in the Leader category is SAP, who actually possesses the biggest market share of any data quality solutions vendor. With its innovative cross-tool integration strategy, SAP aims to provide tighter connectivity among its data management capabilities, including:
The company does face some general challenges, with noted needs to improve its user interface for a better overall experience, along with continuing to improve their technical support.
Added:
Dropped:
Although the main Leaders in the Data Quality Solutions Magic Quadrant remained the same again this year, the promises of innovative technologies and competitive pricings make this category something to keep an eye on. With more capabilities being added as data quality solution options, the landscape will only continue to change, bringing new ideas and growth.
Want to view more Magic Quadrants? Explore these resources: