Alation Data Catalog vs SAP Data Governance comparison

Alation and SAP are both solutions in the Data Governance category. Alation is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.4, while SAP is ranked #23 with an average rating of 9.0. Alation holds a 5.9% mindshare in DG, compared to SAP’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 71% of Alation users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Alation Data Catalog

Read 12 Alation Data Catalog reviews

5,408 Views
2,441 Comparison Views

71% willing to recommend

SAP Data Governance

Read 2 SAP Data Governance reviews

379 Views
256 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Alation Data Catalog

SAP Data Governance

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

SAP Data Governance and Alation Data Catalog compete in the field of data management. Alation Data Catalog seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and faster deployment.

Features: SAP Data Governance integrates well and has comprehensive compliance tools alongside competitive pricing support. Alation Data Catalog offers superior metadata management, more intuitive search options, and is favored for in-depth data analysis and collaboration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both products allow streamlined deployment. Alation Data Catalog is known for a faster setup process and responsive customer service. SAP Data Governance provides extensive customer training resources suitable for thorough onboarding support.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Data Governance generally has a lower initial setup cost, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. Alation Data Catalog offers a better return on investment with its feature-rich platform that enhances data accessibility and insights.

To learn more, read our detailed Alation Data Catalog vs. SAP Data Governance Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog vs. SAP Data Governance

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Alation Data Catalog

Ranking in Data Governance

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Metadata Management (2nd)

SAP Data Governance

Ranking in Data Governance

23rd

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 5.9%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Data Governance is 0.7%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Governance

Featured Reviews

Brahma Lam

Developer at CVS Health

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.…

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Vijaya Macherla

GTM Lead at Capgemini

A robust solution that establishes rules, policies, and procedures

The solution is used in Life Cycle Data Management where it can be stored in cheaper storage options like Amazon and OpenShift. It has helped with data retention It is robust solution. SAP should come up with specialized services as per their customer's requirements. I have experience with SAP…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can customize templates based on our use cases."

"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."

"Alation Data Catalog was very useful for sharing SQL queries easily in a platform."

"Given the relatively low level of maturity, Alation's most relevant feature at the moment is a user interface that's easy to navigate, which helps us find and understand the data. So while Alation has a lot more functionality, our pain point right now is being able to easily find, understand, and trust the information to use it."

"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 platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms."

"The most valuable features of Alation Data Catalog are the simplicity in onboarding data sources, the security in securing the data sources, and the way the various users of Alation Data Catalog communicate with each other through a messenger."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the ALLIE AI feature."

More Alation Data Catalog pros

"It is robust solution."

"The new workflow engine is based on the web app rather than the Java-based approach."

Cons

"Alation Data Catalog needs to develop a lot in terms of data governance and would be improved with a built-in interactive data quality solution."

"It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."

"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 is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, lacking good visualization."

"Although the solution performs far better in terms of data cataloging, its data governance capabilities need improvement."

More Alation Data Catalog cons

"I would like to see harmonizing with some of the external third-party products so that it will all be within SAP."

"SAP should come up with specialized services as per their customer's requirements."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little expensive."

"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."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

18%

Computer Software Company

12%

Retailer

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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 metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms.

See all answers

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 expensive than Alation, but I presented the benefits of having that platform, so that li...

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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, lacking good visualization. In a fast-paced world, we need to grasp information ...

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What do you like most about SAP Data Governance?

It is robust solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SAP Data Governance?

SAP should come up with specialized services as per their customer's requirements.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SAP Data Governance?

The solution is used in Life Cycle Data Management where it can be stored in cheaper storage options like Amazon and OpenShift. It has helped with data retention.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 45% of the time

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

Compared 13% of the time

Collibra Governance vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 10% of the time

Atlan vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 4% of the time

BigID vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 3% of the time

More Alation Data Catalog Competitors

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs SAP Data Governance

Compared 85% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs SAP Data Governance

Compared 15% of the time

More SAP Data Governance Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog

June 2025

Download Alation Data Catalog product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Governance

June 2025

Download SAP Data Governance product report

Also Known As

Alation

No data available

Overview

Alation pioneered the data catalog market and is now leading its evolution into a platform for a broad range of data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, lineage, stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation.

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. With Alation, analysts are empowered to search, query and collaborate on their data to achieve faster, more accurate insights.

Trusted by 400+ enterprises worldwide like Salesforce, Nasdaq, LinkedIn, Finnair, and Cisco.

Alation

SAP Data Governance helps consolidate and centrally govern the master data lifecycle of information across the organization. Key benefits: Consolidate and manage master data across the business, whether information is exchanged and accessed in SAP or non-SAP solutions on premise or in the cloud. Uses prebuilt data models, rules, workflows, and user interfaces to quickly deploy tasks such as financial consolidation, customer service, and supplier onboarding. And supports all your master data domains in one single application, and implement it in an on-premise, cloud, or hybrid environment.

SAP

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.

Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., The VELUX Group, Asian Paints, AOK Bundesverband, EMC Corporation

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog vs. SAP Data Governance

June 2025

Free Report: Alation Data Catalog vs. SAP Data Governance

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