Table of Contents
- Summary
- Data Governance Primer
- Report Methodology
- Decision Criteria
- Evaluation Metrics
- Analyst’s Take
- Methodology
- About Andrew Brust
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
In this era of digital transformation, organizations looking to gain and maintain their competitive edge are constantly trying to improve the value of the insights they derive from their data through analytics. To succeed in accomplishing this strategic objective, it is not enough to implement high-powered analytics software; they must also “evangelize” data throughout the organization, transforming organizational culture into one that is data-driven. In such an organization, data informs decision-making—and becomes a familiar, trusted concept—for personnel at all levels of the company.
At the same time, organizations also find themselves trying to achieve another strategic objective: establish an effective framework for protecting their data. Pressure to do so has been brought on by the passing of global privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, the additional scrutiny of and heightened awareness around the management of user data stemming from recent high-profile data breaches, and the sudden proliferation of online transactions and the user data generated by them resulting from the pandemic.
Data governance has catapulted to prominence as the key for organizations that are trying to find a balance between these two seemingly contradictory strategic objectives. Many platforms and solutions have been developed to assist organizations with modernizing their approach to data governance.
As data governance platforms rise in importance as part of an organization’s data management strategy, choosing one is a decision that must be made after careful deliberation. It can be difficult to wade through the sea of options, as many products labeling themselves as “data governance” solutions do not necessarily provide the core functionalities described here, while other platforms do provide data governance features but are not marketed as such. This report is intended to guide and assist you in the process, to help you make the best-informed decision you can about the platform that best suits your needs.
First, we include a primer to provide an overview of the concepts and technologies involved in data governance. Then we walk through a list of the decision criteria for evaluating the different vendor offerings: table stakes, common to virtually all the offerings in the report; key criteria, features that differentiate the offerings; and evaluation metrics, high-level characteristics that help illustrate the impact that a particular solution can have on your organization. We round out the decision criteria with a discussion of the technologies emerging in the landscape, which represent a preview of where the industry will likely be headed in the future.
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.