Research firm Gartner recently published their latest Magic Quadrant for data integration vendors. Within the 2015 report, Gartner’s researchers outlined the market-led pressures on, and requirements of, vendors in the current year. Here we highlight some of the main market trends identified by Gartner, along with their implications for vendors.
Expanding networks
The increasing volume of data, along with growing awareness of its value to the enterprise, is fuelling demand for flexible networks which span the entire organisation. Data integration architectures and tools are being modernised and increased in scale. Successful vendors will need to provide real-time integration and scalable offerings.
Budget constraints
According to Gartner, customers are facing pressure to balance budgets with their organisation’s requirements. More organisations are seeking what Gartner terms “good enough” capabilities, with an attractive price. Furthermore, while planning for the future, buyers are purchasing only what is required and often using multiple vendors to provide different components. Vendors are responding to these needs with flexible pricing and deployment options, along with self-service capabilities.
Reliance on support services
The sheer scale and rapidity of data is creating demand within organisations for faster and higher quality data. Buyers are therefore seeking responsive and highly-skilled support from their vendors. According to Gartner, they also want “direct and frequent interactions with sales teams and executives”. Ideas for vendors, based on the report, include access to forums and to relevant skills within the vendor’s support team.
Diverse environments
Hybrid data integration architectures are increasingly popular as the need to execute integration in the cloud becomes more prevalent. A hybrid approach enables organisations to work across the cloud and on-premises environments. Successful vendors need to provide lightweight technology that can be adapted across multiple platforms.
Greater synergy
According to Gartner, “more organizations are selecting data integration tools that provide tight links to data quality tools, to support critical information management and governance initiatives.” Organisations are adopting a more synergistic approach to data integration, with the objective that infrastructure and applications are aligned. Successful vendors will provide solutions such as application integration technology.
The full report is available from the Gartner website. For information on how to choose a data integration vendor, take a look at our blog post on seven important factors to consider.
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