New ISG research predicts more than half of enterprises will embrace DataOps by 2026

The expanding use of AI is driving enterprise interest in data operations (DataOps) to orchestrate data integration and processing and improve data quality and validity, a new research report from leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III) says.

DataOps is the use of agile development, DevOps and lean manufacturing techniques by data engineering professionals to support data production. The ISG Buyers Guides for DataOps, produced by ISG Software Research, predict more than half of enterprises will adopt agile and collaborative DataOps practices by the end of 2026 to enhance responsiveness, avoid repetitive tasks and deliver measurable data reliability improvements.

“As enterprise use of AI moves from initial pilots and trial projects through deployment and into production at scale, many enterprises are realizing the critical importance of agile, responsive data processes,” said Matt Aslett, director of research, Analytics and Data, for ISG Software Research. “DataOps enables enterprises to effectively monitor the quality of data used in analytics and governance projects and ensure the reliability and health of the data environment.”

Healthy data pipelines are necessary to ensure data is ingested, processed and loaded in the required sequence to generate business insights and AI, the report says. As data sources and requirements grow increasingly complex, enterprises are looking to automate and coordinate the creation, scheduling and monitoring of data pipelines as part of a DataOps approach to data management.

Such data orchestration automates and accelerates the flow of data to support operational and analytics initiatives and drive business value. By 2027, ISG says more than half of enterprises will adopt data orchestration technologies to automate and coordinate data workflows and increase efficiency and agility in data and analytics projects.

To fully deliver on the promise of DataOps, enterprises must adopt new approaches to people, processes and information, the report says. Processes and methodologies that support rapid innovation and experimentation, automation, collaboration, measurement and monitoring, and high data quality will improve the value generated by analytics and data initiatives.

For its 2024 DataOps Buyers Guides, ISG evaluated software providers across five platform categories – DataOps, Data Observability, Data Orchestration, Data Pipelines, and Data Products – and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 49 providers were assessed: Acceldata, Actian, Airbyte, Alation, Alteryx, Amazon Web Services, Astronomer, Ataccama, Atlan, Bigeye, BMC, Census, Cloudera, Collibra, Dagster Labs, Databricks, DataKitchen, DataOps.live, dbt Labs, Denodo, DQLabs, Google, Great Expectations, Hitachi, IBM, Informatica, Infoworks, K2view, Keboola, Mage, Matillion, Microsoft, Monte Carlo, Nexla, One Data, Precisely, Prefect, Qlik, RightData, Rivery, Saagie, SAP, Soda, Starburst Data, Stonebranch, The Modern Data Company, Y42, Validio and Zoho.

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:

DataOps: Informatica, Microsoft and IBM

Data Observability: Monte Carlo, DQLabs and Acceldata

Data Orchestration: Databricks, Microsoft and Alteryx

Data Pipelines: Microsoft, Alteryx and Databricks

Data Products: Microsoft, Informatica and SAP

“Enterprises need to enable data operation activities across business and IT to improve the agility of data scientists and data analysts in their daily work,” said Mark Smith, partner, ISG Software Research. “Orchestrating and managing pipelines of data to streamline the development of AI requires the efficient processing of data and governance of analytical and operational processes.”

The ISG DataOps 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 DataOps Buyers Guides and read executive summaries of each of the five 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 provides authoritative coverage and analysis 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 ISG Buyers Guides help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG’s proprietary methodology. Visit www.isg-research.net 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.

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