Varonis Platform vs erwin Data Intelligence comparison

Quest Software and Varonis are both solutions in the Data Governance category. Quest Software is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.0, while Varonis is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0. Quest Software holds a 1.9% mindshare in DG, compared to Varonis’s 10.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Varonis users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Intelligence

Read 18 erwin Data Intelligence reviews

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3,040 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Varonis Platform

Read 14 Varonis Platform reviews

8,652 Views
4,326 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

erwin Data Intelligence

Varonis Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 19, 2025

Erwin Data Intelligence and Varonis Platform compete in the data management and security category. Erwin seems to have the upper hand in automation and data lineage, while Varonis excels in data security and threat management.

Features: Erwin Data Intelligence offers advanced automation capabilities that reduce time to market by up to 70%, automates scripts against metadata, and creates a single source of truth for business rules. It enhances data lineage and governance. Meanwhile, Varonis Platform is recognized for its data security and threat management capabilities, monitoring data access activities without impacting system performance and providing a centralized platform to view file servers and manage access permissions.

Room for Improvement: Erwin Data Intelligence could improve its SDK and API to ensure consistent outputs and simplify its data governance tool for better workflow integration. Users also report complexities within its system. Varonis Platform needs enhancements in cloud integration and performance for large datasets, with users desiring more efficient DLP capabilities and a modernized interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Erwin and Varonis offer comprehensive deployment options across On-premises, Public Cloud, and Hybrid Cloud. Erwin is often praised for its streamlined cloud-based setup but receives mixed feedback for customer support responsiveness. Varonis is noted for consistent support performance but requires more access permissions for core functionalities.

Pricing and ROI: Erwin Data Intelligence is considered cost-effective, appealing to broader buyers with a substantial ROI from reduced labor costs and increased productivity. Its implementation and customization costs can add up. Varonis Platform, known for its data security effectiveness, is deemed expensive with a complex licensing model, potentially escalating costs significantly, particularly for smaller companies. However, some large enterprises find the capabilities worth the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Varonis Platform vs. erwin Data Intelligence Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Varonis Platform vs. erwin Data Intelligence

July 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

erwin Data Intelligence

Ranking in Data Governance

18th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Varonis Platform

Ranking in Data Governance

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (9th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (5th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (7th), Ransomware Protection (11th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of erwin Data Intelligence is 1.9%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Varonis Platform is 10.9%, up from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Governance

Featured Reviews

Roy Pollack

Advisor Application Architect at CPS Energy

The solution provides more profound insights into legacy data movements, lineages, and definitions in the short term.

We have loaded over 300,000 attributes and more than 1000 mappings. The performance is slow, depending on the lineage or search. This is supposed to be fixed in the later versions, but we haven't upgraded yet. The integration with various metadata sources, including erwin Data Modeler, isn't smooth in the current version. It took some experimentation to get things working. We hope this is improved in the newer version. The initial version we used felt awkward because Erwin implemented features from other companies into their offering.

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Herman Pienaar

Senior Security Consultant at Intalock Technologies

Has valuable data alerting capabilities and efficient reporting features

The solution's classification engine is highly configurable and efficient. It provides good reporting and visualization, which is superior to previous tools like Microsoft's. The platform's data alerting capabilities and automation features for managing broken permissions are particularly notable. It offers robust automation capabilities, including global permission repair, broken access repairs, and data transport engine features for archiving and migration. The automation tools are useful for managing permissions and performing cleanup tasks efficiently. It provides strong reporting capabilities that help customers adhere to regulations and maintain compliance. Automating reporting is beneficial for maintaining robust governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) posture. It does incorporate some AI elements, particularly in its data alerting module. However, AI integration has yet to be the primary focus of my implementations. AI is expected to play a larger role in future enhancements. I recommend Varonis, particularly its effectiveness in performing data security remediation tasks. Despite its high cost, it is valuable for its capabilities and the lack of impact on end users. Overall, I rate it a nine out of ten.

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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

"There is a wide range of widgets that enables the user to find the proper information quickly. The presentation of information is something very valuable."

"The biggest impact for us is that erwin generates DDL extremely quickly. We're able to pull in metadata, map it to a target, generate DDL to create the tables, and generate SSIS packages. Previously, especially going back 10 to 15 years ago, hundreds of hours had to be spent to manually perform these tasks. This solution completely automates it and gets it 90% done. We can then pass it off to a developer to create the items in SSIS."

"The interface is easy to use. I also like Erwin's automatic data classification and data quality checks."

"Mind map... is a really good feature because it is very helpful in seeing which column's tables are related. Also, you can flag them with "sensitive data" and other indicators. You can also customize your own features for the mind map. That was another very robust feature."

"They have just the most marvelous reports called mind maps, where whatever you are focused on sits in the middle. They have this wonderful graphic spiderweb that spreads out from there where you can see this thing mapped to other logical bits or physical bits and who's the steward of it. It's very cool and available to your business teams through a portal."

"The solution saves time in data discovery and understanding our entire organization's data."

"The data management is, obviously, key in understanding where the data is and what the data is. And the governance can be done at multiple levels. You have the governance of the code sets versus the governance of the business terms and the definitions of those business terms. You have the governance of the business data models and how those business data models are driving the physical implementation of the actual databases. And, of course, you have the governance of the mapping to make sure that source-to-target mapping is done and is being shared across the company."

"Overall, DI's data cataloging, data literacy, and automation have helped our decision-makers because when a source wants to change something, we immediately know what the impact is going to be downstream."

More erwin Data Intelligence pros

"Varonis offers robust data access governance, allowing us to understand which sensitive data exists and who has access to it."

"The solution's classification engine is highly configurable and efficient."

"The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand what's happening in our environment."

"The analytics would have to be our most valuable feature."

"The solution ensures that users have not accidentally shared sensitive information with the wrong people or too many people."

"The most important feature is remediation. In remediation support, there is no group permission. We'll go ahead and remediate the access from the Dell folder to the parent folder."

"Varonis Platform is transparent and captures everything in the environment without impacting the performance. The tool helps us unify data feeds into a single reporting system."

"On the Varonis side, technical support is phenomenal. Their ability to explain is very good, and they seem to be very knowledgeable. When I get an alert that doesn't quite make sense, they dive in there and kind of take me through it. That's very useful and very good. There are some false alerts, but it is better to have a false alert than no alert at all."

More Varonis Platform pros

Cons

"Everything about Data Intelligence is complex. Though we've used the tool for five years, we're still only using about 30 to 40 percent of its capabilities. It would be helpful if we could customize and simplify the user interface because there are so many redundant things."

"There is room for improvement with the data cataloging capability. Right now, there is a list of a lot of sources that they can catalog, or they can create metadata upon, but if they can add more then that would be a good plus for this tool."

"The integration with various metadata sources, including erwin Data Modeler, isn't smooth in the current version. It took some experimentation to get things working. We hope this is improved in the newer version. The initial version we used felt awkward because Erwin implemented features from other companies into their offering."

"If we are talking about the business side of the product, maybe the Data Literacy could be made a bit simpler. You have to put your hands on it, so there is room for improvement."

"One big improvement we would like to see would be the workflow integration of codeset mapping with the erwin source to target mapping. That's a bit clunky for us. The two often seem to be in conflict with one another. Codeset mappings that are used within the source to target mappings are difficult to manage because they get locked."

"There was a huge learning curve, and I'd been in software development for most of my career. The application itself, and how it runs menus and screens when you can modify and code, is complex. I have found that kind of cumbersome."

"We chose to implement on an Oracle Database because we also had the erwin Data Modeler and Web Portal products in-house, which have been set up on Oracle Databases for many years. Sometimes the Oracle Database installation has caused some hiccups that wouldn't necessarily have been caused if we had used SQL Server."

"The fact that I sometimes have to go in and out of different applications, even though it's all part of the whole erwin suite, perhaps means it could be architected a little bit better. I think they do have some ideas for improvements there."

More erwin Data Intelligence cons

"It is significantly complex."

"We have Microsoft Office 365. I just saw an article today which says that they're actually getting integrated with Microsoft Office 365, which would be a useful feature. For user-based reports, log on activity, and stuff like that, it doesn't seem to really be present like Log360. That could just be my inexperience with it. I've been dealing with it for only about two and a half months."

"Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety."

"I would like it to have cloud integration."

"Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety."

"For unstructured data monitoring, it's one of the top ones, if not the top one, due to its usability."

"The solution's areas of improvement are the interface and the dependency on on-premises deployment for some components."

"The GUI should be more functional. There should be a process for connecting through Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc."

More Varonis Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable and competitive. When you get into forward and reverse-engineering, the cost could go up. However, if you are a large organization, you would probably be able to access different packages. If, however, you don't need forward and reverse-engineering, then the price is relatively cheap."

"erwin was at a good price. The federal government wouldn't buy something if the pricing wasn't good."

"There is an additional fee for the server maintenance."

"You buy a seat license for your portal. We have 100 seats for the portal, then you buy just the development licenses for the people who are going to put the data in."

"We operate on a yearly subscription and because it is an enterprise license we only have one. It is not dependent on the number of users."

"The price is reasonable, and a subscription is required."

"Smart Data Connectors have some costs, and then there are user-based licenses. We spend roughly $150,000 per year on the solution. It is a yearly subscription license that basically includes the cost for Smart Data Connectors and user-based licenses. We have around 30 data stewards who maintain definitions, and then we have five IT users who basically maintain the overall solution. It is not a SaaS kind of operation, and there is an infrastructure cost to host this solution, which is our regular AWS hosting cost."

"erwin's pricing was cheaper than its competitors."

More erwin Data Intelligence pricing and cost advice

"Licensing is on an annual basis. Maintenance and renewal fees are separate. Varonis Datalert is quite expensive."

"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."

"The platform is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."

"The pricing is good. It neither expensive nor cheap. It is average."

"Varonis Platform wasn't certainly the cheapest solution."

"It's expensive, kind of, really expensive."

"You could do a subscription, where you pay yearly, or you could purchase it outright. The licensing cost is based on the number of users on the system that you are monitoring."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

25%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Non Profit

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The data mapping manager is the most valuable feature.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The price is reasonable, and a subscription is required.

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What needs improvement with erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The data quality assessment requires third-party components and a separate license. I would like to have better integration around the data quality. I would appreciate the inclusion of a non-struct...

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What do you like most about Varonis Platform?

The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand w...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?

Varonis started as an on-premises solution and is transitioning to cloud. It hasn't fully moved yet, which is an area for improvement. Varonis requires more access permissions for its core function...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?

The primary use case for Varonis Platform is data discovery, specifically for discovering sensitive data in our organization to protect it. We are looking for a solution that can scan our repositor...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 34% of the time

Collibra Governance vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 25% of the time

Alation Data Catalog vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 11% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 10% of the time

Collibra Lineage vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 9% of the time

More erwin Data Intelligence Competitors

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Varonis Platform

Compared 20% of the time

Cyera vs Varonis Platform

Compared 11% of the time

BigID vs Varonis Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Wiz vs Varonis Platform

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Purview Information Protection vs Varonis Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More Varonis Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Intelligence

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Varonis Platform

July 2025

Download Varonis Platform product report

Also Known As

erwin DG, erwin Data Governance

No data available

Overview

Erwin Data Intelligence drives automation, supports data catalog and literacy, and offers Smart Data Connectors for efficient metadata handling. Its customization flexibility and integration facilitate enhanced data governance, visualization, analysis, and compliance.

Erwin Data Intelligence offers automation scripts that accelerate development, integrated data cataloging, data profiling, and lineage analysis to streamline information management. Users appreciate its capability in metadata harvesting, code engineering, and infrastructure integration. The tool provides flexibility to enhance governance and data visualization. While it performs well, users have noted challenges with API robustness and interface complexity, and there are opportunities to improve workflow integration, AI features, and large dataset handling. Companies rely on it for metadata management, automation of metadata mappings, and data governance to support compliance and literacy.

What are the main features of Erwin Data Intelligence?

Automation Scripts: Speeds up development processes through powerful scripts.
Data Catalog: Supports comprehensive data mapping and profiles for better analysis.
Smart Data Connectors: Efficiently handles code engineering and metadata harvesting.
Customization Flexibility: Adapts to existing infrastructure for seamless integration.
Comprehensive Visualization: Empowers data visualization and standardization processes.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Increased Development Speed: Automation scripts notably enhance development efficiency.
Improved Data Governance: Streamlines processes, supporting compliance and business definitions.
Effective Integration: Seamlessly fits with ETL tools and existing workflows.
Enhanced Data Literacy: Supports data literacy initiatives with robust cataloging features.
Comprehensive Impact Analysis: Facilitates thorough analysis for informed decision-making.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, organizations implement Erwin Data Intelligence for efficient metadata management and governance. It assists in automating lineage and mapping, supporting ETL procedures while enhancing compliance and data literacy efforts. Its flexibility and integration support create valuable data insights and governance improvements.

Quest Software

Varonis Platform specializes in network security and data monitoring with modules for alerting, data classification, and access management, benefiting environments like Microsoft 365.

Varonis is designed to secure data by auditing and tracking data movement. It leverages data alert and classification modules to identify and manage sensitive information. The platform enhances network security by alerting users to unexpected data modifications and deletions, crucial for effective data loss prevention. It supports unstructured data management, ensuring proper data access and permission controls. Known for its 24/7 support, Varonis offers comprehensive analytics and unified reporting, helping prevent data overexposure and facilitating compliance efforts.

What are the key features of Varonis Platform?

24/7 Support: Provides round-the-clock assistance.
Data Monitoring: Tracks data activities efficiently.
Unified Reporting: Consolidates data access reports.
Data Classification: Identifies sensitive data effectively.
Permission Management: Simplifies managing access rights.
Behavior Analytics: Detects abnormal behavior patterns.

What benefits should be highlighted in user reviews?

Enhanced Security: Improves data protection measures.
Compliance Support: Assists in meeting compliance standards.
Data Transparency: Offers clarity in data access activities.
Access Control: Ensures proper access to data.
Centralized Remediation: Eases remediation procedures.

Varonis Platform is widely utilized in industries needing stringent data confidentiality and management, such as finance and healthcare, for tracking data modifications and unauthorized access. Enterprises deploy it to manage permissions within large datasets, benefiting Microsoft 365 environments. While Varonis requires enhancements in cloud integration, the current deployment is often based on-premises, with attention to addressing the security needs and effective data handling for critical infrastructure.

Varonis

Sample Customers

Oracle, Infosys, GSK, Toyota Motor Sales, HSBC

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Buyer's Guide

Varonis Platform vs. erwin Data Intelligence

July 2025

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