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Alation Data Catalog vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs SAS Data Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 5.3%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is 5.9%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Data Management is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)5.9%
Alation Data Catalog5.3%
SAS Data Management1.0%
Other87.8%
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

Brahma Lam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has metadata cataloging features but needs changes in domain model
The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature.  The tool's domain model needs to be changed.  Alation Data Catalog is stable.  The solution is scalable.  Alation Data Catalog's deployment is easy. I rate it a nine out of ten. Deployment takes only two to three hours to complete.…
SaurabhGaonshindhe - PeerSpot reviewer
Modular structure and AI features stream new reporting processes
One of my clients has a requirement; they want to integrate metadata into the process, which means, for example, if I just want to implement a new field into my database, that field needs to be reflected throughout, let's say, 200 mappings. This highlights the need for a data-driven approach. My experience with technical support from Informatica is quite interesting; I would rate it as nine out of ten for Informatica PowerCenter kind of products or the Informatica integration products, because my team can do some hands-on using their free licenses or one-month kind of products. However, for products Master Data Management or related to MDM or Data Governance, there is no way by which we can directly practice, and my team struggles at that point.
Vivek Trivedi - PeerSpot reviewer
Has robust data governance capabilities and efficient financial alerting features
The platform's robust data governance capabilities ensure strong compliance with regulatory standards. Our dedicated data governance team is responsible for setting policies and monitoring data access and usage. Additionally, we have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and an independent InfoSec team that work together to enforce these policies. This multi-layered approach ensures that data governance is effectively managed and compliant with all necessary regulations. It is integrated with SQL and Power BI servers for executive management dashboard reporting. This integration supports comprehensive data analysis and reporting needs, which was a key factor in our decision. The value of using vCenter lies in its comprehensive data infrastructure management. It significantly enhances our reporting, day-to-day decision-making, and analytics capabilities. Integrating SaaS with vCenter adds value by streamlining key functions and improving overall organizational efficiency. The solution can be considered expensive, particularly due to infrastructure, maintenance, and ownership costs. The long-term savings and efficiencies gained from using vCenter can justify the investment for large organizations. However, the high costs might not be justifiable for smaller organizations with less data and fewer resources. Conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis based on the organization's specific needs and scale is recommended. I rate it an eight.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the ALLIE AI feature."
"Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
"The platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms."
"We had some of our data science engineers, who had built out some cloud-based data and data products for users. They were spending a lot of their time, up to 30 to 35% of their time, answering questions about the data and helping people understand how to use it. Once they were able to document that information within Alation, they were only focusing on around 5% of the high-value questions that really couldn't be solved through the catalog itself. It freed them up to be more productive, it made their end-users more productive, and it made the adoption rate of their data products rise more quickly because people were able to get to using them."
"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."
"Alation Data Catalog was very useful for sharing SQL queries easily in a platform."
"The solution is used to query MySQL clients and store data and documentation."
"The solution has the best feature for parameterization."
"We've used the solution for quite some time, so in our organization, the product is pretty mature."
"The dictionary, the search, and the ratings are without a doubt the most beneficial components of this solution."
"The feature that allows me to search across the entire organizational database and then look through what objects are in which tables and which locations is quite handy."
"We have a lot of integrations, and it's very easy to create integrations. They have a lot of connectors."
"The fuzzy matching capability is a great feature."
"The solution provides increased efficiency while still being user-friendly and easy to operate."
"It can automatically connect or associate business terms with various options, providing flexibility beyond general capabilities."
"I am impressed with the tool's ability to customize."
"In terms of which features I have found most valuable, I would say the importing and exporting features. Additionally, the data sorting, categorizing and summarizing features, especially how it can summarize based on categories. These are the key features."
"If you compare it to SQL, the memory and development times are very quick."
"This is an established product with powerful data analysis and varied options for user entry points."
"The product offers very good flexibility."
"The tool is reliable, quick, and powerful."
"The solution is very stable. We haven't faced any issues with glitches or bugs. We haven't had any crashes."
"I find the solution to be very stable."
 

Cons

"The tool's domain model needs to be changed."
"The product's data governance features need improvement."
"I know that this has been on their roadmap and they're working on it, but as a whole, there's an untapped reservoir of capabilities within their article features that could be used and built upon."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"Alation Data Catalog does not provide end-to-end data lineage."
"It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."
"Alation Data Catalog is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, lacking good visualization."
"Alation Data Catalog doesn't support end-to-end lineage. By that, I mean the ability to trace the movement of data from when it first comes into our organization to where it's consumed."
"The UX and UI of the solution are areas with certain shortcomings where improvements can be made in the future."
"The licenses are too expensive compared to before, which is why customers are now preferring other data metadata management tools like OneTrust, Collibra, and Azure Purview."
"Informatica Cloud Data Integration could improve the price by making it less expensive."
"Certain shortcomings in the product's UI make it an area where improvements are required."
"There's certainly room for improvement. One crucial area is generating detailed reports on file statuses. Presently, this is represented visually, often as graphs or charts. Such reporting could offer comprehensive insights into the areas that demand attention and further scrutiny."
"Informatica's issue is the licensing. Right now, there are a lot of new gen MDMs that are offering a lot in a single licensing model."
"They have too many diversified products. If you don't know Informatica, it's very confusing and feels very idiotic."
"Its pricing model can be improved. The response time from technical support can also be improved."
"Integration and cloud migration are areas where we see potential for improvement."
"Very little needs to improve but perhaps a nicer graphic interface and remaining competetive in the growing field of data analytics."
"We implemented it a while ago, and we are trying to improve the data delivery performance. We are looking into how to get faster and automated reporting. We would need better designs and workflows."
"I would like the tool to include the ability to automate the modifications of the integrations."
"One problem is accessing the data using a solution other than SAS. The SAS data, which we create in the SAS, cannot be accessed by other tools. We can't open those data in other applications. So we need to have that application in place."
"We find we often have to go back and re-train users when there are changes made to the solution because the changes are not intuitive."
"There is significant room for improvement, especially with regard to using a hybrid approach that involves both CAS and persistent storage."
"The solution is quite expensive and hard to install/configure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is moderately expensive compared to the other competitors in the market."
"I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected."
"A three-year agreement is better than a one-year rolling 12-month agreement from a price point of view. I'd recommend looking at a three-year deal because you can't stand up a catalog and produce value in 12 months."
"The solution is a little expensive."
"The pricing is high compared to other tools on the market."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing nine and a half out of ten."
"The price is comparable."
"The product is very expensive"
"The platform has a premium cost. I rate the pricing as seven out of ten."
"A yearly subscription is paid based on the number of people using the solution. Price-wise, it falls under the medium range since it is neither very costly nor too cheap."
"The pricing structure is good, but having to pay for extra drivers to be used in an ICS environment makes me a little nervous."
"Cost-wise, I think it is on the higher side, and that is why we are looking for some better options. Licensing costs are huge compared to other players in the market and for my company."
"The licensing model for vCenter is a perpetual license with yearly payments."
"The tool is a bit expensive."
"While it is even free for personal use on the cloud, it can be expensive for desktop installations and enterprise use."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise134
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alation Data Catalog?
The platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alation Data Catalog?
The price difference between Alation Data Catalog and Collibra was not significant. Collibra is a little bit expensiv...
What needs improvement with Alation Data Catalog?
Alation Data Catalog is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, ...
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica Cloud Data Integration?
Azure Data Factory is a solid product offering many transformation functions; It has pre-load and post-load transfor...
Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?
Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a...
What are the biggest benefits of using Informatica Cloud Data Integration?
When it comes to cloud data integration, this solution can provide you with multiple benefits, including: Overhead r...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Data Management?
From my experience, SAS Data Management is an expensive tool.
What needs improvement with SAS Data Management?
There is significant room for improvement, especially with regard to using a hybrid approach that involves both CAS a...
What is your primary use case for SAS Data Management?
Some clients and I are using SAS Data Management for data cleansing, data warehousing, and IoT-related activities suc...
 

Also Known As

Alation
ActiveVOS, Active Endpoints, BPM, Address Verification, Persistent Data Masking, Cloud Test Data Management, PIM, , Enterprise Data Catalog, Data Integration Hub, Cloud Data Integration, Data Quality, Cloud API and App Integration
SAS Data Management Platform, Data Management Platform, DataFlux
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.
The Travel Company, Carbonite
Data Management, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Absa, Aegon, Allianz Global Corporate & SpecialtyAusgrid, Bank of Queensland, Bell, BMC Software, Canada Post, Ceska pojistovna, Chantecler, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Credit Guarantee Corporation, Cr_dito y Cauci‹n, Delaware State Police, Deutsche Lufthansa, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DSM, Enerjisa, ERGO Insurance Group, Florida Department of Corrections, Generali Hellas, Gitanjali Group, Gloucestershire Constabulary, GS Home Shopping, HealthPartners, IAG New Zealand, iJET, Invacare, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Los Angeles County, Miami Herald Media Company, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Nippon Paper, North Carolina Office of Information Technology Services, Orlando Magic, OTP Group, PITT OHIO, Plano Independent School District, RWE Poland, Spanish Air Force, Stockholm County Council, Telus, The Travel Corporation, Transitions Optical, Triad Analytic Solutions, UNIQA, US Census Bureau, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, West Midlands Police, XS Inc., Zenith Insurance
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Informatica, Collibra and others in Data Governance. Updated: September 2025.
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