16 top data governance tools to know about in 2025

1. Alation Data Governance

Alation was founded in 2012 and initially offered a data catalog platform to help organizations inventory and provide access to their data. Alation Data Catalog remains its flagship product, but the company released a companion data governance tool in 2021. They're both now part of Alation Data Intelligence Platform, a broader software suite that also includes a data lineage application and other related tools.

Alation Data Governance is designed to simplify the process of providing secure access to reliable data in IT systems, including ones in both hybrid cloud and multi-cloud computing environments. Its Policy Center feature can be used to create governance policies and view how they're mapped to specific data assets. The tool also includes a data stewardship workbench that provides automated data curation functions and uses AI and machine learning to identify potential data stewards based on their data usage.

In addition, Alation Data Governance provides the following features:

• Support for creating and configuring data governance workflows without any coding required.
• A dashboard that the leaders of a data governance program can use to track its progress.
• A Trust Flags feature for highlighting trusted data with links to relevant governance policies.

2. Apache Atlas

Apache Atlas is an open source tool that provides a foundational set of metadata management and data governance capabilities for organizations with data-intensive platforms. It's primarily designed for use in Hadoop clusters, but it can also exchange metadata with tools and processes outside the Hadoop ecosystem to enable integration with other systems for analytics applications.

Organizations can use Atlas to catalog, classify and govern data assets. The tool also provides data-related collaboration capabilities for use by data governance teams, as well as data scientists and other analysts. The Apache Software Foundation has overseen the development of Atlas since 2015. The software initially was developed by former big data platform vendor Hortonworks, now a part of one-time rival Cloudera, with help from several user organizations.

In addition, Atlas offers the following features:

• A flexible type system to define and manage the model used for metadata objects.
• Automated support for cataloging data assets and data lineage information.
• Integration with the Apache Ranger data security framework for access control and data masking.

3. Ataccama One

As its name indicates, Ataccama One aims to be a one-stop shop for all an organization's data management needs by unifying data governance, data quality, MDM and other functions in a single platform. The AI-driven software runs in on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments and is designed for use by data professionals. That includes data governance teams and data stewards, plus data scientists, other data analysts and data engineers.

Ataccama One combines data quality management and MDM with a data catalog, data integration capabilities and reference data management and data observability features; a data storytelling module is included, too. The tool was built for enterprise-wide deployments and use in highly regulated industries, with features that include a full audit history and role-based security.

It also includes the following features:

• Support for governing data in big data platforms and data lake environments.
• An AI agent that autonomously executes assigned tasks, plus generative AI (GenAI) capabilities that let users ask questions in natural language.
• Ataccama Cloud, an AWS-based managed service that's run and maintained by vendor Ataccama.

4. Collibra Data Governance

It's often said that data scientists spend most of their time finding, cleansing and organizing data. Collibra aims to help organizations deliver trusted data to them and other end users with Collibra Data Governance, which is part of its Collibra Data Intelligence Platform. According to the company, the data governance tool can be used to operationalize governance workflows and processes, create a shared language about data assets and make it easier to find and understand relevant data.

The tool includes a business glossary for defining and governing business terms, plus a data dictionary to document metadata. It also offers reference data management capabilities; a Policy Manager application that supports centralized management of data policies and standards; and an Assessments module for analyzing potential privacy risks from the use of personal data in business processes.

In addition, Collibra Data Governance provides the following features:

• The ability to assign data access privileges to users based on their roles and responsibilities.
• Automated incident workflows for identifying, managing and resolving data issues.
• Integration with Collibra's data catalog, data lineage and data quality tools, as well as its Data Helpdesk application.

5. Erwin Data Intelligence by Quest

Fans of the great literary detective Sherlock Holmes know that he has exceptional powers of awareness and observation. Quest Software promises similar capabilities with Erwin Data Intelligence, its enterprise data management and governance tool. The company claims that functionality provided by the tool "boosts data awareness, capability, knowledge and accessibility" in organizations.

Formally known as Erwin Data Intelligence by Quest, the software combines data catalog, data quality and data literacy products in an integrated suite. The literacy module supports self-service data discovery and stewardship, with policy management and automated governance workflows. AI and machine learning algorithms drive data quality and observability functions. Automation is also used to harvest and catalog metadata, generate data lineage details, perform data profiling and assess data quality.

Erwin Data Intelligence includes the following features, too:

• A data marketplace for making governed data products, data sets and AI models available to end users.
• The ability to assign data owners and subject matter experts to help govern data assets.
• A hosted Erwin Data Intelligence Cloud service on the Microsoft Azure platform.

6. IBM Cloud Pak for Data

IBM Cloud Pak for Data is a cloud-native platform that supports data governance, quality and privacy initiatives, as well as data integration, MDM, analytics and AI governance. Built on data fabric technology, the platform incorporates AI-driven data discovery, profiling and cataloging capabilities through the company's IBM Knowledge Catalog software. That tool also provides functions for metadata enrichment and management of data quality improvement efforts and data policies.

Other governance-related tools that are bundled into IBM Cloud Pak for Data include IBM Manta Data Lineage, a service for collecting and mapping data lineage information; IBM Data Product Hub, a data marketplace application; and IBM Match 360, which uses data matching technology to provide consolidated views of governed data sets. Those tools are all integrated with IBM Knowledge Catalog as part of the platform, which can also be deployed on-premises or as a managed service in IBM's cloud.

Other data governance features offered by IBM Cloud Pak for Data include the following:

• Capabilities for identifying sensitive data and dynamically enforcing data protection rules and access controls.
• Relationship Explorer, a feature in IBM Knowledge Catalog that uses a knowledge graph to map the relationships between data assets and governance artifacts.
• GenAI-driven metadata enrichment to add classifications and terms from business glossaries to data catalogs.

7. Informatica Cloud Data Governance and Catalog

Cloud Data Governance and Catalog is part of Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud platform. As the name indicates, it's a cloud service that combines data governance and data cataloging capabilities. The tool also includes integrated data lineage, data quality and data observability functions. It's designed to help organizations deliver trusted data sets to end users and data stewards at an enterprise scale involving large amounts of data.

The software's governance features are similar to the ones in Axon Data Governance, Informatica's companion on-premises offering. Both tools are underpinned by Claire, the vendor's AI and machine learning engine. AI-driven automation can streamline tasks such as metadata management and data discovery, profiling and classification. Cloud Data Governance and Catalog also supports curated data marketplaces to help users find, access and understand data, with built-in collaboration capabilities that include Q&A, rating and annotation features.

Other features in the cloud-based software include the following:

• Automated monitoring of data quality metrics and notification of changes in quality levels.
• A knowledge graph that displays relationships and connections between different data assets.
• Capabilities for governing AI models to provide transparency on them and their underlying algorithms and to help track their performance in applications.

8. OneTrust Data Discovery & Classification

OneTrust Data Discovery & Classification combines technology for those two tasks with an integrated data catalog and a set of data governance policy management functions. It's integrated with a companion AI governance tool as part of OneTrust's broader product portfolio, which also supports data privacy, risk management and related programs in organizations.

The software's data classification engine automatically finds applications and data stores, inventories their data assets and applies more than 300 out-of-the-box classifiers. It also uses AI and machine learning models to classify unstructured data in documents that aren't suited to conventional pattern matching. After the classification work is done, the tool can be used to populate a data catalog, map the data to a business glossary, enrich its metadata and apply governance policies and controls.

The following features are also included in OneTrust Data Discovery & Classification:

• More than 200 prebuilt connectors​ to data sources, plus an SDK to create custom connectors.
• An AI-driven feature for identifying duplicate data files and analyzing whether to retain or delete them.
• A customizable dashboard for analyzing information collected by the software on the data discovery process.

9. Oracle Enterprise Data Management

Oracle Enterprise Data Management is an MDM tool that incorporates data governance capabilities. For example, it includes governance workflows to control the work of data stewards, as well as database administrators, data engineers and other so-called data custodians. The workflows are designed to help organizations maintain high-quality data by creating request and approval processes for potential changes to data sets. Users can also get email notifications about requests and workflow actions.

The tool supports tailored change management procedures for data in different business domains. In addition, what Oracle describes as a "crowdsourcing-style approach" enables data changes to be made or modified across various applications through a request subscription feature, which prepares the changes to fit individual business contexts. An inference engine invites stakeholders to take part in a workflow and uninvites ones who no longer need to be involved.

Oracle Enterprise Data Management also provides the following features:

• A set of application adapters for connecting to both Oracle and non-Oracle systems, with wizards for registering new applications.
• A change management dashboard that display metrics on MDM and data governance KPIs.
• Conversation threads for collaborating on governance and change management issues, plus support for attaching files to justify or expand on change requests.

10. Precisely Data Integrity Suite

All successful relationships are built on trust, and that's what Precisely Data Integrity Suite aims to help foster with data assets. It's a set of seven integrated cloud services for managing and analyzing data, including a data governance one that vendor Precisely acquired in 2021. Formerly named Data360 Govern, the service enables organizations to create an enterprise data governance framework with metadata management capabilities and a data catalog that's part of the suite's underlying platform.

The governance tool can be used to associate data assets with business goals and KPIs for tracking related metrics and calculating the business value of individual assets. It also includes a business glossary, data policy management capabilities and integrated data quality rules, scores and metrics. In addition, the software supports automated metadata harvesting, machine learning for data discovery, and semantic data classification and tagging driven by AI technology.

Other features built into the data governance service include the following:

• Customizable governance workflows for handling requests, approvals and issues.
• A data lineage function that incorporates 3D process diagrams and impact analysis capabilities.
• A flexible metamodel that can be configured to mirror an organization's business model to help ease the data governance process.

11. Rocket Data Intelligence

Rocket Software describes Rocket Data Intelligence as an automation-driven tool that can help people understand what data to trust for decision-making. As the company has noted, much of the data created and collected in organizations often goes unused because business managers, data scientists and other end users either can't find it or aren't sure if it's trustworthy. Rocket Data Intelligence aims to address those issues through a set of metadata management, data lineage and data governance capabilities.

The software generates end-to-end views of data as it moves through IT systems and can be used to provide information on the business meaning of data. For example, built-in data governance workflows and data stewardship functions enable governance teams to manage data-related issues, approve business glossary entries and handle other tasks. Role-based access control is also supported for setting user permissions to specific data sets.

The tool, which Rocket acquired when it bought ASG Technologies in 2021, also provides the following features:

• An enterprise metadata repository, plus automated support for harvesting metadata from more than 260 data sources.
• Automated data lineage documentation, with visualized data flows mapped to business context.
• Tracking of data collection, storage, access and use to help comply with data privacy laws.

12. SAP Master Data Governance

In keeping with its name, SAP Master Data Governance is designed specifically to help organizations govern and manage master data as part of MDM initiatives. The tool can be used to consolidate master data from various source systems and govern it centrally, with built-in data quality management capabilities also included. It's part of SAP Business Technology Platform, a broad set of data management, analytics, AI and associated technologies.

SAP offers two versions of the governance tool: one that runs on top of its flagship S/4HANA ERP system and a cloud edition that can support a federated network of master data governance environments through a hub-and-spoke approach. In that kind of setup, a central system governs core master data attributes, while application-specific attributes are managed by separate governance systems in business units and departments.

SAP Master Data Governance also includes the following features:

• Prebuilt data models, business rules, governance workflows and UIs to help streamline deployments.
• Collaborative workflow routing and notification capabilities to help enforce validated data values.
• Integration with the companion SAP Master Data Integration tool to combine integration and governance capabilities.

13. SAS Information Governance

With SAS Information Governance, software vendor SAS Institute aims to help end users spend less time looking for and evaluating data. It's also designed to help data stewards and data governance teams ensure that data assets are secured and used properly. Part of the SAS Viya platform, the governance software is sold as a separate product and bundled into several SAS analytics tools as either a standard component or an optional add-on.

The tool includes a data catalog and can automatically crawl data sources, classify data and identify sensitive information. End users can search the metadata in the catalog to find relevant data, as well as reports and other analytics assets; the search results provide information on data quality, usage metrics and more to help users decide if the identified data is right for their analytics needs. ​

SAS Information Governance also offers the following features:

• Built-in data quality, integration and lineage tools, with a self-service UI that provides views of required data preparation steps.
• One-click access to SAS Viya analytics applications from data assets in the data catalog.
• A SAS Viya connector to the Egeria open source metadata manager to enable metadata sharing between different tools.

14. Semarchy Data Intelligence

Semarchy Data Intelligence was introduced in 2024 to separate data governance, quality and cataloging functions out from Semarchy xDM, a companion tool that now focuses specifically on MDM. Both products are part of Semarchy United Data Platform, which also includes data integration software. Semarchy Data Intelligence supports data discovery, metadata harvesting, data lineage documentation, alignment of data assets with business uses and other governance-related tasks.

The software also facilitates collaborative governance processes, as well as development of data metrics and badges to help end users understand data assets. A metadata repository is included, along with a data catalog and a business glossary. In addition, user-created tags can be applied to cataloged data assets to classify them and add contextual information about their attributes. A search feature helps users find data, glossary terms and other information in the catalog.

Other features provided in Semarchy Data Intelligence include the following:

• AI-based data classification that automatically assigns business glossary terms to data assets.
• Role-based user permissions, plus functions for regulatory compliance and financial reporting.
• The ability to edit documentation about data assets, with controls based on access policies.

15. Syniti Knowledge Platform

Syniti Knowledge Platform offers a full set of data management functionality, including data governance capabilities that are underpinned by an embedded data catalog. The cloud-based software can ingest data from hundreds of source systems and automatically generate metadata. It then uses additional automation driven by machine learning algorithms to help build semantic models that associate the metadata with an organization's business processes and terms.

The software also supports data lifecycle management with end-to-end governance. For regulatory compliance, it can be used to track data lineage and audit data sets, including changes and where data is stored. Syniti, which was acquired by technology services firm Capgemini in December 2024, focuses much of its strategy on deployments in SAP environments. That includes a partnership under which SAP resells the platform under the name SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management by Syniti.

Syniti Knowledge Platform also includes the following governance-related features:

• Collaboration capabilities, including automated workflows that can be used to crowdsource data insights and best practices.
• A standard set of data intelligence dashboards and support for creating custom ones.
• Automated collection of the details about data migrations to ensure they're aligned with an organization's data governance strategy.

16. Talend Data Fabric

Talend Data Fabric combines data quality, data preparation and data governance technologies in a single platform, along with an application and API integration module. It's part of Qlik Talend Cloud, a suite of data integration and management tools offered by Qlik, which acquired original developer Talend in 2023. Talend Data Fabric incorporates automated quality checks and other data quality features, as well as functions for managing governance and data stewardship processes.

The software includes a data catalog that can automatically crawl, organize and enrich metadata. A data inventory module supports metadata management and can identify data silos; it also offers information on how trustworthy data is through the Talend Trust Score, an underlying platform function that calculates at-a-glance scores on the reliability of data sets. Data stewardship capabilities include a team-based workflow for setting priorities and tracking projects, plus a stewardship monitoring function.

Talend Data Fabric also has the following features:

• Self-service data preparation and curation that includes the ability to share prepared and curated data sets with other users.
• Data lineage tracing and compliance tracking to support data privacy and regulatory compliance efforts.
• Role-based access control and workflow-based data curation to help protect data from unauthorized use.

Editor's note: This article was updated in January 2025 for timeliness and to add new information.

Craig Stedman is an industry editor who creates in-depth packages of content on analytics, data management and other technology areas.

David Weldon is a business and technology writer in the Boston area who covers topics related to IT, data management, infosec, healthcare tech and workforce management.