8 Data Governance Tools for Growing Organizations in 2024

How To Choose The Right Data Governance Tool? 

When selecting a data governance tool, we recommend that you consider the following key factors to evaluate your options:

• Regulatory compliance: Ensure the tool aligns with necessary regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA). 
• Usability: Look for tools that break down silos between departments. Opt for those offering no-code options for business users and low-code features for more technical users, ensuring accessibility for users.
• Scalability: The tool must handle increased data volumes and complexity as your business expands. Look for features like CDC replication, auto-scaling backends, and real-time streaming. Those are good signals of scalable infrastructure.
• Master Data Management (MDM): A robust data governance tool should offer MDM capabilities, ensuring a single source of truth and effective data cataloging.
• Data privacy and security: Prioritize tools with strong measures for protecting sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII), including encrypting customer data at rest and in transit. Hint: Enterprise-grade data governance platforms often have certifications attesting to their data protection capabilities.
• Data quality management: The tool should offer features for monitoring and maintaining data quality, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of your data.
• Versatility for other use cases: Consider whether the tool can support additional initiatives like real-time big data integration or leveraging machine learning for business metrics outside traditional data governance tasks. Having a single tool for multiple use cases lowers your data stack costs, speeds up onboarding of new members, and eases observability across your stack.

1. Keboola

Keboola is a self-service data operations platform that automates all DataOps, including data integration, data modeling, data management, and data governance. 

What sets Keboola apart from other data governance solutions is the centralization of operations into a single platform. It enables you to manage and govern data in the same place where you build data flows. This helps you save multi-tool costs, unifies working across different use cases into a single paradigm, and enables you to manage all the data operations from a single platform.

“Other tools have that (meta)data, but you can't really access it. You can see it, but you can't play with it. With Keboola we get to play with it, and we get to tweak it.” - Daniel Rothamel, Cloud Data Delivery Engineer at North Labs

Keboola Best Features 

• Manage your entire data stack: With over 700 pre-built connectors covering data sources and destinations, you can integrate, manage, and govern your entire data stack with a few clicks.
• Automated traceability and data lineage: Everything that happens with your data in Keboola at any project stage is recorded, including user activity, job activity, data flow, schema evolution, data pipeline performance, compliance with your security rules, etc.
• Actionable metadata: Keboola provides access to all raw metadata via its Telemetry connector, unlike other data governance solutions. It allows you to build custom MDM dashboards with metrics, rules, and alerts.
• Granular governance controls: Support different governance roles by using granular access practices, which safeguard data safety and privacy while empowering every user to get the data they need to do their best work. 
• Self-service: Keboola offers no-code features for business users (Visual Flow Builder, no-code transformations) and low-code features for data experts (in Python, Julia, R, or SQL) to empower everyone to access data and build data pipelines as they need it.
• Flexible deployment: Run Keboola on-premise, in the cloud, across multi-cloud, or even in hybrid situations.
• Enterprise-grade data security: Keboola is certified in line with GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 to guarantee data privacy across all your operations.
• Advanced data catalog: Join the business glossary, metadata, and data access into a single data catalog that helps you centralize and unify data definitions, as well as share the definitions alongside the data.
• Versatile: Keboola is more than a data management and data governance tool. It also allows you to build advanced big data machine learning apps, run all your ETL pipelines, and automate data operations.

Keboola Limitations

• No automated lineage graphs: Keboola doesn’t visualize your data lineage out of the box. You’ll have to build your own visualization using the metadata freely provided.

Pricing

Keboola operates on a freemium, usage-based pricing model. Initially, you receive 120 minutes of free computational runtime in the first month, followed by a monthly refill of 60 minutes. You can purchase more at $0.14 per minute if you exceed these free minutes. 

Keboola stands out in the field of data governance tools for its transparent pricing and features automated notifications to help you control your budget.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.7 out of 5 stars (90 reviews​)

“As a bank and also a member of BNP Paribas Group, we are obligated to obtain the highest standards for the security of our client´s data. Keboola is not only able to fulfill these requirements but at the same time can provide a highly effective tool that offers a wild variety of functionalities for working with data.” -  Karel K., Product Manager

2. Alation

Alation is a data intelligence platform that caters to huge enterprises. With its AI-driven data stewardship and policy management across the data lifecycle, it's designed for organizations looking for streamlined governance workflows.

Best Features 

• Automated governance operations: Alation offers advanced automation capabilities, significantly easing governance tasks like auto-updating data dictionaries or training users on governance principles.
• Comprehensive data cataloging: The Alation Data Catalog provides a unified platform for managing data, supporting easy data access and management of organizational data assets.
• AI-driven data stewardship: Utilizing AI and machine learning, Alation identifies the best user candidates for data stewards and helps you assign data ownership, enhancing data curation and governance efficiency.

Limitations

• Lack of pricing transparency: Pricing details are not readily available.
• Too complex for smaller teams: Given its comprehensive features, smaller teams or organizations might find the tool overwhelming or more than what they need.
• Steep learning curve: The wide array of features and AI-driven functionalities might require a significant learning curve for users new to advanced data governance tools. 

Pricing

Alation doesn’t disclose its pricing policy or costs; you must talk to sales for a bespoke offer.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars (62 reviews)

3. Collibra

Collibra’s cloud-based data intelligence platform is an advanced, enterprise-grade solution for automating and managing data governance processes. Although Collibra offers services across the entire data lifecycle, it’s primarily focused on Data Governance, Data Lineage, and Data Observability (which aptly follows the name of their in-platform products).

Best Features 

• Centralized data governance hub: Collibra treats data governance as its own process, creating tools for every stakeholder: a single data dictionary to document and lead cross-company metadata management, a separate business glossary to align users on company language, a centralized ticketing system to (dis)approve data requests, stewardships access controls and management, etc.
• Policy Manager application: Supports the centralized management of data policies and standards (ISO and other data standards, external regulations like GDPR, internal regulations, accreditations, and certificates), streamlining policy adoption, regulatory compliance, and risk monitoring.
• Automated lineage extraction: Collibra automates the recording and visualization of data lineage. It extracts lineage from source systems, ETL tools, and BI solutions with native lineage harvesters, easing data discovery and traceability across the data ecosystem.

Limitations

• Potential overwhelm for smaller teams: The wide array of features might overwhelm teams at smaller organizations.
• Complex integration for new users: Integrating and fully utilizing its comprehensive features can pose a challenge for new users.
• Resource intensive: Collibra requires significant resources and time for complete implementation and usage.
• Steep learning curve: The advanced features and automation require a certain level of expertise, presenting a steep learning curve.

Pricing

Collibra doesn’t disclose its pricing policy. However, the company offers a 20-day free trial to evaluate its range of data governance solutions.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars (75 reviews)

4. Informatica

Informatica offers enterprise data management solutions, including Informatica Data Quality, Informatica Enterprise Data Catalog, and Informatica Master Data Management Cloud.

Best Features 

• Automated data lineage tracking: Provides automatic data lineage tracking, from high-level system overviews to detailed column-level analysis. Informatica also tracks lineage across data migrations.
• Comprehensive data and metadata management: Informatica offers robust features, including data cataloging and a business glossary as a metadata management tool. Informatica stands out for businesses operating on multi-cloud infrastructures by automatically creating a data catalog by scanning data assets across different cloud vendors.
• Dedicated tools: Informatica offers products tailored to solving specific data governance challenges. For example, Informatica Data Security Cloud focuses on data privacy issues in cloud-based applications. This gives you the flexibility to pick and choose the solutions according to your data governance strategy and needs.

Limitations

• High implementation and usage complexity: The breadth and depth of Informatica’s features might be overwhelming for smaller teams or organizations.
• Compounding cost structure: Informatica's pricing can be a concern, as it requires separate payments for each product, and each product itself tends to be on the higher end of the price spectrum.

Pricing

It’s unclear how much you’d have to spend using Informatica for your data governance program since the company is not transparent about its pricing. 

What’s known is that each product is charged separately, and yearly costs can be north of $700.000/year. 

Rating and reviews 

G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars (270 reviews​)

5. Atlan

Atlan is primarily a modern data catalog. It integrates metadata from diverse sources like Snowflake, dbt, Databricks, and more, offering a unified experience in data discovery, cataloging, lineage, and governance. 

Best Features 

• Searchable metadata: Atlan allows you to search your data sets and associated metadata using SQL, natural language, or a business glossary. 
• Column-level lineage within BI dashboards: Atlan visualizes column-level relationships from your data sources to your BI dashboards. This makes it an ideal candidate for business analysts trying to discover or understand their data.
• Data governance assessment tags: Assign intuitive (green-yellow-red) tags to your data assets and metrics to quickly understand the level of data privacy they need.

Limitations

• Limited integrations: Atlan has fewer connectors than its competitors and offers a lower breadth of data integration capabilities. The maturity of its connectors is also behind its competitors.
• Outdated documentation: Some publicly available product documentation is outdated, leading to potential confusion among users.
• Complicated setup and onboarding: The tool’s complexity, lack of appropriate training materials, outdated documentation, and ever-changing platform make Atlan a tricky tool to set up and onboard.

Pricing

Atlan doesn’t disclose its pricing tiers or policy. You’ll have to contact sales to get a bespoke quote.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.6 out of 5 stars (87 reviews​)

6. Ataccama

‍Ataccama is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution designed to streamline data management and governance with AI-driven automation. 

Best Features 

• AI-driven automation: Offers automated data profiling, cleansing, merging suggestion, analysis, and classification, enhancing efficiency and convenience for governance teams. 
• Comprehensive data management suite: Integrates data quality, MDM, data catalog, and data integration capabilities in one platform. 
• Robust security and compliance features: Provides complete audit history, role-based security, and automated policy enforcement, ideal for regulated industries.  

Limitations

• Complex data transformations: Handling complex data transformations is more complex than advertised, often requiring coding expertise and significant effort, especially with larger datasets.
• Performance issues: Some users have experienced performance issues affecting the efficiency of their data governance implementations.
• Integration challenges: Integrating Ataccama One with other cloud data management platforms can be tricky, especially for new users.
• Slow support response: Users have reported slow responses from the support team, which can be a significant drawback, particularly for a complex tool like Ataccama One.

Pricing

Ataccama doesn’t display its pricing policy publicly; you must contact sales. The latest online information puts Ataccama ONE at $90.000/year.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars (11 reviews)

7. Talend

Talend offers a suite of solutions that can function independently or as an integrated cloud data management platform, catering to various use cases: data integration, data quality, Master Data Management (MDM), and machine learning-enhanced data catalog.

Best Features 

• Automated data cataloging: Talend Data Catalog automatically scans, profiles, organizes, connects, and enhances your metadata. It documents up to 80% of the information related to the data, maintaining its relevance through intelligent relationships and machine learning.
• Advanced MDM capabilities: Talend MDM can create tailored data remediation and approval workflows, allowing data records to be sent to data stewards for review. 

Limitations

• Complex setup: Because different data governance functionalities are dispersed across different tools, getting all the tools up and running according to your data governance framework can be challenging and resource-intensive.
• Compounding cost structure: Talend requires separate payments for each product in its data management suite, and each product tends to be on the higher end of the price spectrum.

Pricing

Talend doesn’t disclose its pricing; you must contact sales for a bespoke quote. 

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars (195 reviews​)

8. Apache Atlas

Apache Atlas is an open-source data governance software primarily designed for use in Hadoop clusters, though it can interact with other systems outside of Hadoop. 

Best Features

• Comprehensive metadata management: Offers robust features for metadata types, instances, and automated support for cataloging data assets. It also allows you to create masking rules, specifying who can view sensitive data and how to mask that data to prevent customer data leakage.‍
• Advanced classification and security: Allows dynamic creation of classifications like PII, EXPIRES_ON, DATA_QUALITY, SENSITIVE, etc.  Atlas automatically ensures that classifications follow the data through various data flows.‍
• Versatile data lineage and search: Provides an intuitive UI for viewing data lineage and a sophisticated search system, including a SQL-like query language. You can also request and update lineage via its API.

Limitations

• Complexity for non-Hadoop users: While versatile, it’s primarily designed for Hadoop clusters, which may pose challenges for integration with non-Hadoop environments.
• Open-source challenges: Being open-source requires more hands-on setup and customization, which can be resource-intensive.

Pricing

Apache Atlas is licensed under Apache Linsense 2.0, so there is no cost associated with using, modifying, or distributing this data governance software. However, expect steeper infrastructure and engineering costs for setting the tool up, maintaining it, and debugging it.

Rating and Reviews 

G2: 4.6 out of 5 stars (16 reviews​)

Manage and Govern Your Data With Keboola

Explore the power of Keboola for yourself with its unique blend of comprehensive data governance and versatile data operations—all within a transparent pricing model. 

Sign up today for free (no credit card required) to experience fully managed and governed data.